The Role of the Phillipine Education System in National ...

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The Role of the Phillipine Education System in National The Role of the Phillipine Education System in National

Development During and After the New Society 1972-1986 Development During and After the New Society 1972-1986

Loudres Rayla Baluga Loyola University Chicago

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THE ROLE OF THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATION SYSTEM

IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING AND

AFTER THE NEW SOCIETY

1972 - 1986

Lourdes Rayla Baluga

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School

of Education of Loyola University of Chicago in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Lourdes Rayla Baluga

Loyola University of Chicago

THE ROLE OF THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATION SYSTEM

IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING AND

AFTER THE NEW SOCIETY

1972 - 1986

Ever since a system of education was established in the

Philippines, the school had been the principal and foremost agent

of modernization and economic development. There were also some

attempts to use the school as agents of social change, especially

in health and sanitation. These attempts were not successful.

Schools were, however, successful in their major goal of raising

the level of literacy. With an increasing school enrollment,

caused by the rapid rate of population increase, the desire and

motivation of the Filipino/a youth to be educated for social

mobility and economic advancement, the educational system, took

on its constitutional responsibility of providing the people with

the needed education.

However, in the 1960s, there was widespread clamor for and

concern about the quality and relevance of the Philippine

educational system to national needs social and economic

development. A survey made by a presidential commission in 1969,

came up with the conclusion that the Philippine educational

system was not contributing substantially toward the nation's

goal of economic development. The commission also made

recommendations to improve the educational system. In response,

the education system tried to adopt reforms. This was at the time

martial law was declared by President Marcos (21 September 1972),

who sought to reform Philippine society into a "New Society." The

education system was used as the vehicle for reforms.

Considering that social and economic reforms have been

specified as major means to attain national development, and that

the different government agencies were expected to contribute

toward the attainment of this goal, this research therefore

presents a documentary analysis in historical perspective, of how

the Philippine educational system in particular, played its role

in national development efforts during the period of the New

Society, from 1972 to 1981. The study concerns itself mainly with

development efforts initiated, adopted and implemented by the

Philippine educational system during said period. A chapter on

the aftermath of these development efforts covers the period

after martial law was lifted ( 1981) to the end of the Marcos

regime in early 1986.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Due acknowledgment is hereby given to the following for

their invaluable help in the preparation of this dissertation:

The members of the dissertation committee Dr. John M.

Wozniak, Dr. Gerald L. Gutek, and Dr. Joan K. Smith -- for their

guidance and direction in the professional structuring of this

dissertation;

Dr. John M. Wozniak, adviser and director, for his support,

assistance and encouragement throughout the writer's education at

Loyola University;

Minister Lourdes R. Quisumbing, for her kind response to the

request for vital documents and current relevant information

about Philippine education.

Special mention and grateful acknowledgment is due to the

Baluga family -- for their love and generous support, assistance,

encouragement and prayers, toward the completion of this work and

education;

To Fr. Peter M. Rutayongororwa, for the moral and spiritual

support and inspiration;

To colleagues and friends, for their valuable suggestions,

assistance, support and encouragement.

The author, Lourdes Rayla Baluga, is the daughter of the

late Judge Antonio Baluga of Kalinga-Apayao, and Antonina Reynes

Rayla Baluga of Cebu City. She was born on 2 November 1946, in

Mayoyao, Ifugao Province, Philippines.

She obtained her elementary education from the Mayoyao

central School in 1959. Her secondary education was completed in

1963 at Assumption Academy, Mayoyao. A consistent honor student,

she graduated as valedictorian of the graduating classes in both

elementary and secondary level.

Miss Baluga completed an Elementary Teachers' Certificate

with honors, at the age of eighteen, from Sta. Theresita's Jr.

College, Lubuagan, Kalinga. In 1965, she entered St. Louis Uni

versity, Baguio City for the degree in Bachelor of Science in

Education, but before completing the degree, she was called to

teach at the Irnrnacula te Concept ion School, Banaue, If ugao. She

continued to teach from 1967-71 at Assumption Academy, her Alma

Mater. She then, completed her Bachelor of Education degree at

the University of Southern Philippines, Cebu City in 1972.

In January 1981, Lourdes Baluga was admitted as a graduate

student at Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois. She was

granted an assistantship in 1982, until she completed her Master

of Arts degree in Educational Administration and Supervision in

May 1983. She entered Loyola University for the doctoral degree

in Foundations of Education (Comparative/International Education)

in September 1983.

In the Philippines, while teaching for the catholic schools

from 1971 - 1979: St. Joseph's Academy, Mandaue City, and Don

Bosco High School, Lagawe, Ifugao, Miss Baluga served in

important positions in various school, civic/community and

religious organizations. She presented a paper: Evaluation

strategies in the New Social Studies for Philippine High Schools,

during a Seminar for the private schools in Mandaue City.

While in the United States, Miss Baluga served as

Eucharistic Minister (1983 - 1986) and volunteer CCD teacher at

the Holy Trinity Parish, Westmont, Illinois (1983). Since Septem

ber 1983, she holds the position as Contract Programs Coordinator

for the College of Education, Roosevelt University, and teaches

part time at the same college. She is a member of the Phi Delta

Kappa, Loyola Chapter.

In the Filipino community of Chicago, Lourdes Baluga served

as secretary of the Ad Hoc Commit tee for Ninoy Aquino Memorial

Day Celebration, August, 1986; and secretary of the Committee for

the First Freedom Day Celebration ("People Power" Anniversary),

25 February 1987. She is recording secretary for the newly

organized Filipino Solidarity (USA) of Chicago, 1987.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .

CONTENTS OF APPENDICES

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Study . . • • • . Need for the Study . • • • • • • • . Method and Procedure . • • • . . • . Organization of the Study

II. COUNTRY PROFILE

Country The People . .

History Government . . . . • . . . • • . Educational System Prior to 1972 ..

History . . . . . . . . . . . . Educational System Post 1972 . .

Administration and Organization Structure of Education . . • Language of Instruction

Problems of Philippine Education Quality of Elementary and

Secondary Education . • . . . . Rationalizing Higher Education . . Administration of the formal Education System . • • . . . . . . . • . Educational Financing . • . •

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO SURVEY PHILIPPINE EDUCATION . . . . . . . .

The Report of the Presidential Commission

19 24 26 30 41 42 44 44 49 52 54

to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE) . 58 Objectives of the Survey • • . . . . . . . • • . 60 Strategy for Attaining the Objectives . . • . . 62

Human Resources and Manpower Development . • . • . . . . . • . . . 62

Contents and Methods . . Logistics of Education . Financing • . . . • •

The Survey Methodology . . The Commission's Findings

Major £indings . . . . Other findings . . . . .

Major Recommendations New Educational Aims . . New Educational Ladder • Financing of Education . • . . Reorganization of Administration . . . • . • Language of Instruction • . • . Implementation . . . • . . . . • .

Recommendations for Priority Areas .. Educational Planning: Development

and Educational Aims • . • . • . Elementary and Secondary Education . • . • . Vocational/Technical Education . • . . • . . Higher Education . . . • . . • . . . Language of Instruction . . . . • . . . . • Educational Financial Administration

and Logistics . . . • . • . Project Proposals . . . • . . . . . . . . .

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM RESPONDS TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION

The Educational Development Decree of 1972

63 63 64 64 65 65 67 76 77 78 81 81 82 82 84

84 88 90 91 94

(P. D. No. 6-A) . . . • . . . . • . 103 Aims of Education • . . . . . . • . • . . . . • 106 Achieving the Goals . . . • • . . . . . • 110 The Role of the Schools in Accomplishing

the Education Aims . . . • . . 114 Education and the 1973 Constitution 117 Other Developmental Thrusts of the

New Society • . . • . • . . . . . . . 124

V. DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS IN EDUCATION •. 130

Educational Reforms . . • . . • . • . Curricular Reforms ...•

Curricular Enrichment . Work-Oriented Programs Emphasis on Basic Education . Special Education Program . . The Revised Secondary School

Curriculum .•...... The National College Entrance

Examination . . . • . • . . . . . The Youth Civic Action Program ...•. Bilingual Education .•...

134 135 136 137 143 144

149 151 154

Democratizing Access to Education Nonformal Education

Educational Innovation . . • . • . . . • • • Project IMPACT • . . . . . . . . . • . . The In-School Off-School Approach . • . Distance Study System . . . . . . . • . The Year-Round School Calendar • . . . . . . The Continuous Progression Scheme • . .

Educational Development Projects . . . . • . EDPITAF Projects . • . The Textbook Project . . • .

Conclusion . . • . . . . . .

156 157 160 164 166 167 168 168 170 170 171 173

VI. AFTERMATH: EDUCATION FOR FILIPINOS (1980-1986 174

Academic Policy and Direction . . . . . . . . . 174 Basic Education . . • . . . . . . • • . • • 176

Program for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) . . . . . . . 178

Program for Comprehensive Elementary Education (PROCEED) . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

The New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC) . . . • . . . . . • . . . . 183

Other Development Plans in Education • . . 188 The Secondary Elementary Education

Development Program • • . • . • • . . . . • 188 New Minister of Education in Aquino Cabinet,

Dr. Lourdes R. Quisumbing takes over -- Plans and Prospects • . . . . . . . . . . 193

Commentary • . . . • 195

BIBLIOGRAPHY 202

APPENDIX A 218

APPENDIX B 220

APPENDIX c 223

APPENDIX D 225

APPENDIX E 230

APPENDIX F 239

APPENDIX G 244

APPENDIX H 246

APPENDIX I 250

APPENDIX J 256

APPENDIX K APPENDIX L

APPENDIX M

APPENDIX N

APPENDIX 0

276 289

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure

1. Map of the Philippines in Southeast Asia .

2. Map of the Philippines

3. Presidential Government under the Republic of the Philippines

Structure of the Philippine Parliamentary System of Government . • • . . • . .

Organization of Governmental System under Martial Law, 1975 ....

Philippine Semi-Parliamentary Government (Modified Form) ..•.......

Organization Chart of the Department of Education and Culture: 1976

8. Organization Chart of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports

9. Structure of the Philippine Educational System by Years . . . . . . . . . . • . .

10. Research Strategy/Implementation .

11. International Comparative Education Ratios .

Enrollment Projection

Yearly-Per Student Direct Cost of Public and Private Philippine Education for 1966 and by Educational Level in Pesos (1966 prices) •

14. Comparison of per Student Cost 1973-1977

15. Comparison of Educational Indicators for Selected Countries ...... .

16. Educational Structure of the Philippines, 1970 and Proposed Educational Structure of the Philippines (PCSPE) .•....

17. Old Organizational Structure of the

18. 19.

Department of Education and Culture and New Organizational Structure Salary Increases of Teachers 1972 - 1979 Elementary School Curriculum Time Allotment -- Minutes Per Day .

20. The Revised Secondary School Curriculum

83 133

Time Allotment -- Minutes Per Day . . . . • . . . . . . 147

21. Revised Philippine Elementary Program for Grades I - IV: 1979-71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

22. The New Elementary School Curriculum (Effective June 1983) .........•.....•. 187

23. Recommendations: Elementary Education (1985 Conference) .........•......... 191

24. Recommendations: Secondary Education (1985 Conference) ...........•.....•. 192

CONTENTS OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX A Systems View of Education . 218

APPENDIX B Executive Order No. 202 . 220

APPENDIX C Education for National Development 223

APPENDIX D Major Recommendations of Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education . . . . . . . . 225

APPENDIX E Presidential Decree No. 6-A . . . . . . . . 230

APPENDIX F Department Order No. 20, s. 1973 239

I. Enclosure A The Revised Secondary Education Program, 1973 241 1. Objectives of Secondary Education . . . . . . 241 2. Subject Areas: A Brief Description . . . . • . 242

APPENDIX G Memorandum No. 28, 1973 •.

APPENDIX H Memorandum No. 139, 1974

I. Guidelines on the Implementation of the Revised Secondary Education Program, 1973

APPENDIX I Education Plan (Manuel Alba)

I. Introduction

II. The Education Plan .

III. Accomplishments of the Education Plan in the First Half of Plan Implementation (1978-1980).

IV. New Directions in the Second Half of Plan Implementation (1981-1982)

APPENDIX J MECS Memoranda

I. MECS Order No. 6, s. 1982 . • . . . . • . 258 1. Inclosure No. 1 (Salient Features of NESC) . • 260 2. Inclosure No. 2 (Objectives) . . . . • • • • . 260 3. Inclosure No. 3 (Time Allotment and

Learning Areas: Brief Description 264

4. Inclosure No. 4 (Sample class Programs)

II. MECS Order No. 19, s. 1983 . • . • •.•. 1. Inclosure (Clarifications on the NESC) •.

273 274

APPENDIX K Education in Crisis (Jaime C. Laya) . . . 276

APPENDIX L Philippine Education Indicators 1965 - 1985 . . 289

I. Introduction ....

II. Executive Summary 1. National Budget 2. Total Enrollment ....•. 3. Total Number of Schools .•.•• 4. Total Number of Teachers . 5. Enrollment to Population Ratio 6. Graduation Rates .••• 7. Teachers' Salary ....•.•. 8. Educational Loans/Scholarship Programs •

III. Elementary School Pupils' Achievement

IV. Number of Schools

v. Literacy in the Philippines

APPENDIX M Moving Forward in Education: 1985

APPENDIX N 1986 Constitution: Article XIV

I. Education

II. Language

III. Science and Technology .

IV. Arts and Culture •

v. Sports ..

APPENDIX 0 Copy of Letter to Minister Quisumbing

293 293 293 293 293 294 294 294 294

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Ever since a system of education was established in the

Philippines, schools have been the principal and foremost agent

of modernization and economic development. Compared to other

developing nations, it is relatively well along the road to the

modern society. 1 The present century has witnessed a remarkable

spread of education, with the result that there are schools found

in almost every barrio, or even in the remotest areas of the

country, which provide to a very high percentage of Filipino

children, at least some initial schooling.

The school plays an important role in Philippine communities

and the nation as a whole. Any visitor to the country can readily

judge by the school's appearance that it has an important

function in the community where it is located. As described by

Guthrie, "located on spacious grounds, the school may be the only

building in the community with lawns and flower borders .

school gardens and demonstration plots of new strains of rice

have been added to the grounds." 2 In the Philippine cultural

context, this statement has various implications.

It is a popular belief that one who goes through the portals

of the community school, has taken the first step toward upward

1George M. Guthrie, The Psychology of Modernization in the Rural Philippines, IPC Papers No. 8, (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1970), p. 5.

2rbid., p. 33.

mobility -- from peasant farmer to the "educated." The path to

modernization and improvement of community life starts in the

school. Teachers are considered persons of authority in the

community. The architecture of the school building can also tell

the history of the school, i.e., a classroom or two, either

concrete or prefabricated may be added at a time as government

funds are obtained when the town is "favored" by higher

government officials. It is part of the community history to

relate that 11 this part was erected during that mayor's term, or

when he/she was the supervisor or principal of the school. 113

In the beginning, there were attempts to use the schools as

agents of social change, especially in health and sanitation.

However, this attempt was not successful: consequently schools

started to direct more attention to other activities, such as

gardening, rice culture, and other food production oriented

activities. Schools were, however, successful in their major goal

of raising the level of literacy, thereby causing individuals to

seek more and greater opportunity beyond their own community.

Taking the whole education system into account, one result

of the concerted effort to educate the people has been a

3The expansion in educational opportunity from urban to rural brought about by strong political pressures from the educated indigenous inhabitants of colonized areas such as developing nations, has resulted in the high valuation of education. James S. Coleman, in his chapter, "Education ," in Frank Tachau, ed. The Developing Nations: What Path to Modernization (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1972), p. 100, takes important note that, 11 among the commonalty there was widespread conviction that only education could bring ,higher status and a better standard of living."

Philippine reputation of having a relatively highly educated

population. 4 This generalization, however, must be considered in

the context of important qualifications.

One recent significant development in educational and

economic thought has been the general acceptance of the positive

correlation between education and economic development. This is

proven by many studies, and noted by educational experts. 5 , 6

Among the developing countries of the post-colonial period,

one influence of increased educational opportunity has been the

feeling that, "expanded education is the prime requisite not only

for economic development, but also for the badge of modernity

which will extinguish the stigma of backwardness, and serve for

4International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The Philippines: Priorities and Prospects for Development, World Bank Country Report (Washington, D. C.: The World Bank, 1976), p. 285.

5w. S. Bennett, for example, in his study, has written that, " Asian nations show a high positive correlation between general education and development," in William S. Bennett, Jr, "Educational Change and Economic Development," in Max A. Eckstein and Harold J. Noah, Scientific Investigations in Comparative Education (London: Macmillan Company, 1969), p. 168; also M. J. Bowman and C. A. Anderson have noted, "that literacy and income are correlated," in C. Geertz, ed. Old Societies and New States (New York: Free Press, 1963).

6v. Bernardino, one of the Philippine education experts, notes, "that education offers the best hope and promise of improving the conditions in our rural areas " in V. Bernardino, "The Role of Education in Rural Development", in Vitaliano Bernardino, Perspectives in Philippine Education: A Collection of Speeches and Unpublished Writings of Vitaliano Bernardino (Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines: Philippine Public School Teachers Association, Inc., 1982), p. 67; also V. Bernardino points out that "in a democratic society, economic development which is generally propelled through government initiative and action, is basically dependent upon a literate and intelligent citizenry ... ", in Vitaliano Bernardino, "The Educational Factors of Economic Development," in Ibid.

people in the developing areas, individually and collectively,

full acceptance in the modern world cornrnunity. 117 Countries that

have attained high economic development are the countries that

have developed an effective system of education. On the other

hand, the countries that have not attained significant economic

progress are also the very same countries that have neglected to

improve their educational system. 8 It is also true that merely

any type of educational system will not serve as a potential

factor in economic development. Education must be geared closely

in both quality and orientation to the demands of the economic

development of the country. An educational system can rate high

in certain quantitative aspects but be low in terms of adaptation

to the needs of the developing economy. 9

Was there equal educational opportunity for all Filipinos,

regardless of income, social standing or region? If education was

being provided, was it considered quality education? Did the

education system produce graduates who had skills that were

needed for national growth and development? Was the educational

system meeting the growing and changing needs of the country and

its people? Were the educational goals relevant to the nation's

needs -- for a developing country coping with the demands of

modernization? These and other questions concerning Philippine

education, aggravated by the reality of a rapidly increasing

7Tachau, The Developing Nations, p. 100.

8 rbid., p. 90.

9Ibid.

population, the existence of social and economic unrest, caused

widespread concern for the government. This eventually led to the

appointment of Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine

Education in 1969. Findings of the survey and its major proposals

and recommendations contained in the report, Education for

National Development: New Patterns, New Directions, were used as

bases for educational reforms.

The pace of reforms and improvement in the education system

was slow; but an unprecedented opportunity for massive reforms in

education was brought about by the declaration of Martial Law in

the Philippines on 21 September 1972 by President Marcos. The

general direction of the educational reforms were summarized in

the recommendations of the Presidential Commission to Survey

Philippine Education. Legal provisions for the implementation of

its project recommendations were outlined in Presidential Decree

No. 6-A, also known as the Education Decree of 1972.

In defense of his declaration of Martial Law, President

Marcos advanced the concept of a democratic revolution for the

Philippines designed to save the country from subversion and to

rectify the ills of society. This renewed society was called the

"New Society," and its plans and programs for implementation was

called the New Society Movement. 10 Plans for the New Society that

lOThe term as used in this study generally means a crusade or program of campaign for reforms in society. It is not inclusive of political campaign programs of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan or KBL, translated as the New Society Movement, the official political party of Marcos during his administration. Also see Ferdinand E. Marcos, Notes on the New Society of the Philippines (1973); also, Ferdinand E. Marcos, Today's

were envisioned by the President, as could be gleaned from

various national publications, included modification of the

political, economic and social system of the country. 11 The

educational system was then designated the institution

responsible for instruction in the ideology and skills necessary

for the New Society, i.e., education had to play a significant

role in the Philippine national development plan. 12 Reforms gave

Revolution: Democracy, (1971).

11The government was in control of various media. Some television stations and daily newspapers were owned or operated by people who were influential in the Marcos government.

N. Vreeland, et al, Area Handbook for the Philippines 2nd ed. 1976 (Foreign Area Studies of the American University), p. 141; also, Vincente B. Valdepenas, Jr. has noted in "Phi lippines," in Yip Yat Hoong, ed. Development Planning in Southeast Asia: Role of the University (Singapore: Regional Institute of Higher Education and Development, 1973), p. 250, that, "in the matter of social policy, the government has increasingly emphasized expansion of the middle class, elimination of unnecessary monopolies, and the pursuit of social justice in the distribution of the gains of growth between consumers, labor, and capital groups" and that the "economic policy is directed at increasing per capital incomes, accelerating job opportunities, diffusing more equitably the gains of growth, dispersing industries to other regions of the country, stabilizing prices so that economic effort can be intensified."

12The term "national development" will be used from hereon to mean the economic, social, and political upliftment of the country. The principal objectives of development planning in the Philippines as enumerated by Valdepenas, in Ibid., are: land reform; manpower training for industry; expansion in the range of infrastructure; social welfare and community development; family planning; growth of the cooperative movement; reorganization of the educational system to meet the manpower requirements of national development; low-cost housing; rapid electrification of the rural regions; self-sufficiency in food production; expansion in the level and range of exports; acceleration of tourism; development of cottage industries; more effective land distribution; and the expansion of health care available to the largest number of people.

increased emphasis to technical and vocational training, the

promotion of desired cultural values, and the development of

national consciousness. The professed goal was to promote an

accelerating rate of economic development and social progress as

well as to maximize participation by all of society in the

benefits of this growth and progress. 1 3

Purpose of the Study

Shortly after the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, the

Department of Education and Culture laid down its program of

reforms. These reforms were intended to make education contribute

more substantially to the national effort at reforming and

building a new society and ultimately attain social and economic

development and progress for the nation. With the issuance of

Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders, and Letters of

Instruction in rapid succession, followed by the Education

Department Orders and Memoranda, the program of reform in

education called for curricular redirection, revisions and

improvements in teaching methodology and techniques, as well as

reforms in administrative aspects and resources management.

Considering that economic development had been specified as

a major national goal, this paper therefore presents a review in

historical perspective of the literature that asks why and how

the Philippine educational system plays a role in national

13rbid., p. 141.

development.

search the

literature,

The study has three objectives. The

historical (from 1970) and current

identify and describe projects and

first is to

(until 1986)

plans of the

education system, and analyze how these projects and plans can

contribute to the attainment of national development goals.

The second objective is to trace the basis of Philippine

development goals and demonstrate how the education system can

attain such goals. The third objective is to describe and analyze

conditions in the country, that serve as favorable or unfavorable

factors for the education system to contribute to the attainment

of national development goals especially during and after the New

Society period from 1972 to 1986.

The role of education in any society -- rural, urban,

underdeveloped, or developing derives from the goals and

aspirations of the people and the social and economic conditions

prevailing in that society. Can not education contribute toward

the realization of such goals and aspirations of a people? What

social and economic conditions exist that education can not help

to improve?

Need for the Study

The idea that education is the key that unlocks the door to

modernization is popular in most developing countries such as the

Philippines. It refers to the part played by education in

economic growth and development: hence the efforts of the

government through educational planning to hasten the achievement

of such goals. In this case, education has first to be examined

to see if it has a role to play, especially as it bears upon the

processes of economic, political or social development and

modernization. To be an instrument to achieve such goals,

education has first to reform itself.

The educational institutions were to play a significant role

in the New Society. All schools, colleges, and universities were

enjoined "to undertake an intensive information campaign,

utilizing all possible means, such as classroom lessons, homeroom

conferences, community and PTA assemblies, and all school

publications" for a better understanding of the purpose of the

new society. 14 The role of the schools in the information

campaign was to keep the people instructed or informed of the

meaning of the New Society and the work that the government was

doing as embodied in decrees, orders, and letters of

instructions. Activities and programs in the schools were

community geared. In the Youth Civic Action Program, for

instance, students were made to go out to the communities to

explain or teach the people about the land reform program,

cooperatives, and their responsibilities as citizens to pay their

taxes. The students were to encourage the people to join in the

Green Revolution program and to cultivate better or new habits of

cleanliness and beautification in their homes and the community.

In the schools, teachers had to explain the meaning of the

1 4oepartment Order No. 42. s. 1972.

New Society through academic forums, debates, classroom

activities, etc. within the guidelines prescribed for the

purpose. The decrees, orders, and letters of instruction were

used as resource materials in the classrooms. 1 5 Cultural

activities and literary programs were presented in communities by

the students, which were supposed to enrich the lives of the

students and faculty, and to acquaint the community with the

meaning of the New Society.

In its early stages of the implementation of reforms, the

initial reaction of the average teacher or administrator was one

of mixed feelings ranging from the "I-must-do-it to let-us-do-it"

spirit. Administrators had to implement orders so as not to be

considered "notoriously undesirable." Teachers questioned. "Why

us?" "How are we supposed to do it?" Nevertheless, the favorite

slogan of the New Society was "Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disciplina

ang kailangan. 11 16 Although many teachers, parents, and

administrators were confused because they did not understand

clearly the philosophy of the New Society, they were eager to

adopt new approaches and ideas in their classrooms and homes.

It is in this perspective that the writer took keen interest

15This writer was a Social Studies teacher in the Junior and Senior classes. Subjects under this domain included Philippine History and Government, Philippine Economic Development and Progress, and World History, a Cultural Perspective. Several subjects had to be integrated in these courses such as: Population Education, Taxation, Green Revolution, Cooperatives, and other subject areas that the education system considered as main thrusts in the development of a new society.

16The slogan is translated as: "For the progress of society, discipline is necessary."

in following up what has been accomplished since 1972, by the

education system in attaining the goals of the New Society for

national development. As a member of the teaching force in the

private secondary schools, the writer has personally observed and

participated in the initial attempts at reforms in education at

the secondary and regional level. 17 Subsequent activities such as

the Green Re vol u ti on project, You th Ci vie Act ion Program,

seminars and conferences on new innovations in methodology and

techniques were conducted from a national to the division level,

and implemented in and according to each school level-

elementary, secondary and higher education. 18

There is some evidence and indications that the development

projects that have been started have undergone improvements in

all levels of education and resulted in some project-offshoots

and other better projects. However, there is still a lack of

related information or material on the assessment of the

performance of the educational system in relation to achieving

the goals for national development and this study will not deal

with that. The questions it will attempt to answer are the

following. To what extent did the education system implement the

goals of national development after undergoing a reorganization?

17The writer was one of the first group of trainees in the First Regional Leadership Training Seminar for youth development and girl/boy scouting, in Cebu City in 1973.

l8By 1973, private secondary schools, under Department orders joined the public secondary schools, including vocational and technical secondary schools to form the Bureau of Secondary Education.

what activities is the education system still undertaking to

achieve the national educational aims and goals? Did the

executive orders and directives enhance the implementation of

development projects? Were the projects realistic of the

Philippine situation under the New Society movement? With ·the new

government (1987) in operation, what are the prospects and plans

of the education system to help achieve national development

goals? What is the future of Philippine education? Finally, is

the education system an effective agent or instrument of change

to help reform society?

This study is intended to serve as a springboard from which

other researches can be done to make the proper evaluation of the

development efforts of the educational system during and after

the New Society period from 1972 to 1986.

The creation of the "New Society" in the Philippines is an

ongoing process, notwithstanding the lifting of martial law in

1983, the installation of a new leadership in 1986 under

President Corazon Aquino and the adoption of a new Philippine

constitution in February 1987. 19 But with the lifting of martial

law in 1983, the political atmosphere as a factor in implementing

educational reforms and development projects has changed. There

is then, a need to review such education activities as were

19The concept of a new society was always identified with Martial Law. The term is seldom used nowadays.

A new Philippine constitution was approved by the Filipinos in a national plebescite on February 2, 1987. One significant feature is found in Article XIV, a provision devoted for education, science, technology, arts, culture and sports. See Appendix E.

recorded and written under a different political situation where

the role of the media in the New Society was restricted. 20

Government restrictions imposed in 1972 reduced the role of the

press as a critic of the New Society and led to immoderate praise

of government activities and policies. 21

Would the context of educational planning be different after

Martial Law? What directions will the education system take for

future educational planning under a real democratic government?

This study therefore, encourages further studies to evaluate

the effectiveness of the projects undertaken by the education

system to attain national development and to anticipate or

conjecture the future shape of Philippine education under a new

regime free of restricting conditions.

Method and Procedure

Basically, this study uses historical and documentary

research. It describes and analyzes events as accurately as

possible through a critical process of inquiry that was made

through various sources.

Official records and documents

These records are the Presidential Decrees and

Proclamations, Executive Orders, Letters of Instruction,

20vreeland, Area Handbook for the Philippines, p. 142.

21 Ibid.

promulgated by President Marcos during the martial law period,

which have become laws of the land; Department Orders (DEC),

Ministry Orders and memoranda from the Ministry of Education,

culture and Sports (MECS), Circular Letters, and publications or

newsletters of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

publications from International bodies, such as the UNESCO, the

world Bank, also fall under this category.22

Personal records

The writer has attended and participated, as the school

representative, in seminars, conferences, orientation programmes

conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports on a

district or regional level, about educational reforms and

innovations from 1973-1979. These personal records consist of

outline speeches and talks by MECS representatives in the

seminars, copies of papers read in the conferences, and lecture

notes and hand outs. It also includes some correspondence from

friends and relatives from the Philippines, describing the

situation in the country, from 1980 to 1986.

Published materials

Historical summaries were obtained from books, mostly

written by past and present officials in the Ministry of

22 It should be noted that the laws of the land were through proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions and acts promulgated by President Marcos, until an interim National Assembly was convened, and which remained valid, legal and binding even after Martial Law was lifted, and until a new constitution is adopted.

Education, Culture and Sports, and who are considered Philippine

education experts. Other materials consisted of newspapers and

periodicals. All these were made available from some libraries

around the country. Most of the government documents are from

the MECS, Manila and Division Office of Ifugao Province. Other

documents were provided by the National Media Production Center,

the Philippine Consulate libraries in New York and Chicago,

publications from the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs and the

UNESCO.

The investigation is based on the systems theory as an

approach or technique to diagnose and plan educational-reform

efforts as illustrated in Bushnell's research and development

strategy for planned educational change model, and applied to

education in the Philippines.23,24

Viewed graphically and in a simple form, the system concept

of analyzing the Philippine education system may be represented

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

23 P. S. Bushnell and D. Rappaport, eds. Planned Change in Education: A Systems Approach (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1971), p. 10; also John A. Scileppi, A System's View of Education a Model for Change (New York: University Press of America, 19 8 4) .

24Juanita s. Guerrero, "Systems Concept as Framework to the New Thrusts in Education" in Manuel, Guerrero and Sutaria, eds. New Thrusts in Philippine Education (Manila: Current Events Digest, Inc. 1974), pp. 41-53.

As a basic system, the Philippine educational system during

the New Society period, had "inputs," "processes," and "outputs,"

with a purpose, mission, and goal.25 The systems concept,

therefore is a useful and appropriate tool in providing a broad

framework for analyzing the rationale behind innovations, thrusts

and reforms undertaken in the Philippine educational system

during the New Society period and its impact on on-going

development efforts in the 1980s.26

Organization of the Study

This Study is organized into six chapters.

Chapter I describes and introduces the problem.

Chapter II is devoted primarily to important introductory

background. It includes a brief view of the geographical setting

of the Philippines, the people, government and the present

educational system.

Chapter III examines how the Presidential Commission to

Survey Philippine Education undertook a thorough study and

assessment of Philippine education, and made recommendations for

the education system to implement in order to make it contribute

effectively to the attainment of national development goals.

25As a point of clarification, schools in the past had been referred to as systems, but "they had not been organized nor operated according to the systems concept," in Ibid., p. 47.

26see Appendix A (Systems View of Education).

Chapter IV embodies the basic guidelines and factors by

which the education system could implement the recommendations of

the education system.

Chapter V analyzes the projects, plans and efforts of the

education system as it plays its role in achieving national

development goals. It includes educational reforms, innovations

and development projects undertaken from 1972 to 1979.

Chapter VI describes some important improvements and

innovations in education for the eighties. It also includes some

on-going developments in education for national growth and

progress. A brief commentary of the writer is found in this

chapter.

CHAPTER II

COUNTRY PROFILE

The education system of any country is shaped and influenced

to some degree by the country's physical and socio-economic

setting, although the whole system will usually be the result or

product of national policy as dictated by the political and

social structure of the country. 1 It is also recognized that the

education system plays an important role in advancing and

accelerating economic growth and development, and achieving

national unity, especially in developing nations. The national

aspirations of a people can be best understood in the light of

the history of its people.

This chapter is primarily devoted to important introductory

background. It includes a brief view of the geographical setting

of the country under study -- the Republic of the Philippines, a

historical glimpse of its people, a condensed picture of its

governing system and a summary of the present education system.

The short descriptions in each subsection of this chapter

can also provide the reader with a concise but clear background

necessary for understanding the Philippine experience in social,

economic and political reforms during and after the period under

Martial Law (1972-1981).

1Arthur L. Carson, The Story of Philippine Education (Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1978), p. 1.

country

The Philippines is located off the southeast coast of Asia,

(see Map I), lying between Taiwan on the North and Borneo,

Indonesia and Malaysia on the south. The western Pacific Ocean

and the South China Sea border its eastern and western limits.

The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of some 7,100

islands spanning about 1, 520 miles from north to south and 685

miles from east to west, (see Map II). The total land area is

about 115,831 square miles, slightly larger than Nevada. 2 Most

islands are low lying but the larger are marked by hilly or

mountainous interiors and alluvial plains of considerable size.

Luzon, the main island in the north, is the largest island and

about the size of Kentucky. 3 Mindanao, the second largest island

located in the south, is about the size of Indiana. Between these

two major islands lies a regional grouping of smaller islands

called the Visayas. The irregular coastlines, marked by bays,

straits, and inland seas, stretch for more than ten thousand

miles and is said to be twice as long as the coastline of the

coterminous United States. 4

The land consists of narrow coastal plains and interior

valleys and plains created by large mountain ranges. The major

2Free Press Chicago, 1, the Chicago Tribune Graphic, World Factbook.

n. 6. with

(Oct. 1986), as quoted from sources from World Almanac,

3united States, Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, "Philippines" Background Notes (August 1986), p. 2.

4 Ibid.

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plains are found in Central Luzon -- the region called the "Rice

Granary of the Philippines." The tallest mountain Mount Apo,

(about 9,660 feet above sea level), is found in the island of

Mindanao. Volcanoes dot the country. Mount Mayon Volcano, found

in Luzon is known to have the world's most nearly perfect cone.

The Philippine Archipelago lies within the tropical zone,

hence its climate is generally warm, but considerable variations

may occur in different sections of the country. In some parts of

the country, especially in the coastal plains or "lowlands," the

dry summer months are from November to May; the short rainy

months are from June to October. The temperature for the coastal

plains or low land areas averages between eighty-ninety degrees

F. In more mountainous regions, nights are sometimes decidedly

cool. Since the country lies astride the typhoon belt, typhoons

frequent the archipelago between the months of June and November.

The archipelago also lies along the seismic belt.

The Philippines is basically an agricultural country, with

rice as the staple food for most of the population; corn is the

second staple crop. Agricultural products come from sugarcane,

coconuts, bananas and pineapples. It has abundant mineral

resources particularly in copper, coal, gold, chromite, cement

materials, iron ore and nickel. From these resources, the

leading export products are sugar, coconut oil, gold, copper, and

textile. From the Philippine forests, tropical hardwood are

world famous, one of which is the Philippine Narra, the

Philippine's national tree.

Its colorful flora and fauna boast of some rare species. The

smallest deer is found in the mountains of Mindoro, southwest of

Manila. The monkey-eating eagle is also found in the Philippine

forest. Marine life includes more than one thousand varieties.

The world's known smallest fish is also found in the Philippine

oeep, near the Marianas Islands in the Pacific. The Philippine

national flower is the sampaguita, made into beautiful leis for

visitors to the country.

Today, the natural resources of the country are easily some

attractions for foreign visitors. The unique people of the

Philippines, steeped in age-old cultural heritage, are themselves

a main attraction. Levesque, in his French translation of

Pigafetta's writings about the Philippines in the sixteenth

century, says of the people of the Philippines: "A cause qu'ils

estoyent assez plaisans et conversables, nous prismes grand

plaiser avecques eux." (Translation: "Because they were pleasant

and easy to talk to, we took great pleasure in their company." 5

Today, even amidst all the strife and turmoil of Philippine

politics, and the poor and unstable economy, the people still

remain "pleasant" and are renewed in their faith in the Almighty

as expressed in the famous "People Power" revolution of February

1986. The Filipinos have revived their hope for a better economic

condition under the new government of President Corazon Aquino.

5Rodgr ique Levesque, The Philippines: Pigafetta' s Story of Their Discovery by Magellan (Canada: Levesque Publications, 1980), p. 11.

Pigafetta, a Spanish chronicler, was with Magellan during his rediscovery of the Philippines in 1521.

The people

The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. The name

Philippines was given to the island by the exploring Spaniards in

the fifteenth century, in honor of King Philip of Spain. Long

before the Spaniards introduced Christianity, there were five

different racial types which migrated from the continent of Asia

to the various Pacific islands, including the Philippines. Their

descendants now form the native population called Filipinos.

Arranged according to the chronological sequence of their arrival

in the Philippines, these racial types were: (1) Negritoes, (2)

the Australoids, ( 3) the Oceanic Negroids, ( 4) the Indonesians

and (5) the Malays.6

From the Christian era onwards, different peoples, such as

the Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, Spanish, other East Asians, Europeans

and Americans (not necessarily in this order), also migrated to

or located in the Philippines, while they were doing trade with

the inhabitants of the islands. The Chinese, who came to the

islands to trade in the ninth century, are now the largest ethnic

minority in the country. The aborigines or original inhabitants

called the Aetas or Negritoes were driven gradually off the

plains, and up to the mountains where they mostly live to this

day. Thus, it can be said that physically and culturally, the

Filipino is a complex blend. This can be the answer to the

6socorro C. Espiritu, ed., Sociology and Social Living, 3rd ed. (Manila: Jmc Press, Inc., 1960), p. 113; see also Howard Hayden, Higher Education and Development in South-east Asia, vol. 2: Country Profiles (UNESCO and International Association of Universities, 1967).

question why Filipinos do not look alike (other groups have

distinct physical features}, some looking like a native Chinese,

Hindu, Negro, and others still, like Caucasians.7

The various population types in the Philippines at present

may be classified into: (l} Christians, (2} Mohammedans or "Moro"

(Muslim Filipinos} and pagan or non-christian groups, and (3}

non-Filipino citizens, such as the Chinese and Indians. 8 Recent

population statistics indicate that in 1985, population was 54.6

million, with an annual growth rate of 2.4 percent. 9

About ninety percent of the people are Christians: 85

percent are Roman Catholics; the rest are Protestants and other

Christians, such as the Philippine Independent church or Iglesia

Ni Kristo and the Espiritista church. The non-Christian peoples

are the Muslims and the pagans, who belong to the cultural

minority groups, such as the Igorots, Ifugaos, Mangyans,

Kalingas, Gaddangs, etc. 1 0 In most of southern Philippines

called the Mindanao island, the Filipino Muslims, locally known

as "Moros," (from the term Moors of Spanish experience and

7The Spaniards introduced Christianity while colonizing the country in the sixteenth century.

8Marcelo Tango, "The Christian Peoples of the Philippines", Natural and Applied Science Bulletin, (U.P. 1951), p. 16, quoted in Socorro Espiritu, ed. Sociology and Social Living, 3rd ed., pp. 114-115.

911 The Philippines," National Catholic Reporter; also, United States, Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Background Notes "Philippines," August 1986), p. l.

10some of these cultural minority groups are today, embracing the christian religions, but still practice their native customs.

history), have their own distinct culture based on their

. . 11 rel1g1on.

The best evidence of the great number of different types of

peoples which reached the Philippines is the number of languages

and dialects and ways of living. There are about eighty-seven

native or indigenous languages and dialects -- all belonging to

the Malayo-Polynesian linguistic family, which are used along

with Spanish and English.12

Pilipino, the language essentially derived from Tagalog, a

local dialect, and English are the official languages. 13 English

is widely used in commerce, government, international relations

and as medium of instruction. Pilipino, adopted as the official

and national language in June 1940, is used as the new medium of

instruction and the lingua franca. 14 Thus, a Filipino/a has to

be proficient in two languages.

11 The Spaniards were able to Christianize most of the northern part of the Philippine Islands, from Cebu City which was their original settlement.

1211 The Philippines: Vital Statistics", National Catholic Reporter September 1983, p. 2.

The Muslims and pagans belong to the so-called non-Christian tribes of the Philippines and are socially labelled the cultural minority group. The pagans are the tribal Filipinos who do not believe in a Christian god, but believe in the spirits of the underworld.

l3Note that the word "Pilipino" refers to the national language and "Filipino," refers to the people and can also be used to describe any thing referring to the Philippines. For example, the Filipino language is Pilipino; a Filipina/o is a citizen of the Philippines.

14Hayden, Country Profiles, p. 542.

History. Any visitor to the country, upon inquiring any

thing about Philippine history, would usually hear this joke:

that the Philippines spent four hundred years in the convent

under Spain and fifty years in Hollywood under the Americans.

That, in a capsule, is the history of the country.

By the sixteenth century, when the Spaniards came to

colonize the Philippines, there already existed a distinct

culture and system of government. As migrants from the Asian

mainland settled among the original inhabitants, they formed a

number of settlements or communities with their own government or

barangay headed by a ruler/leader or chief called datu. Although

many of the inhabitants welcomed the Spaniards in 1521, some

resisted the Spanish conquistadores led by Magellan, who was

slain by Lapu-lapu, a chieftain of Mactan Island near Cebu. 15

Notwithstanding armed resistance, the Spaniards pacified and

christianized some areas of Luzon and Visayas islands, while

holding only a nominal sway over Mindanao, which had already been

converted to Islam by early Arab traders. Spanish colonization of

the country for about three centuries was marked by occasional

rebellions which ended when Dr. Jose P. Rizal, now honored in the

l5originally the word was balangay, a Malayan word meaning a small vessel or boat that transported the Malayan immigrants to the Philippines, but got distorted as some people interchange their R's and L's. (See Felicitas Padilla, The Philippine Government and the New Constitution, 3d rev. ed., (Cebu City: Oriental Printing Press, 1983), p. 11.

country as a national hero, was martyred. 16 This event sparked a

fullscale revolution ending up in the independence of the

Philippines from Spain in January 1989, with American assistance

proffered on account of the Spanish-American War of 1898.

subsequently, the Americans decided to hold the country 11 in

trust 11 and after a brief but sometimes bitter struggle, they

gained full control by 1901 and established a military government

until 1908 . 1 7 A ci vi 1 government was established afterwards,

leading to the birth of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935. Full

independence from the United States would have been achieved

before July 4, 1946, had it not been for the Second World War.

The Philippines supported the United States in the Pacific side

of the war against the Japanese imperialists, who established a

Japanese Military government in 1942, and eventually established

the Japanese-Sponsored Republic of the Philippines from 1943-

44 .18

The democracy that evolved after the Americans withdrew in

16Jose P. Rizal was one of the enlightened Filipinos, educated in famous universities in Europe, and well known for his revolutionary ideas and writings such as the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo. (These writings were prohibited and not recommended as reading material for students especially in catholic schools, because the church was involved.) Considered as one of the brains of the Philippine Revolution against Spain, he was imprisoned and exiled in Dapitan (Mindanao). While in exile, he wrote his famous Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell). He was executed in Bagumbayan Field on 30 December 1898.

1 7Ang Pilipinas Your Tourist Magazine 1 (3Q 1986): 2; also Hayden, Country Profiles, p. 543.

18Felici tas Y. Padilla, The Philippine Government and the New Constitution, 3d rev. ed., (Cebu City: Oriental Printing Press, 1983), pp. 47-55.

1946 was abruptly cut in 1972 with the imposition of Martial Law

by "strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos," who ruled the country for

almost twenty years. But in 1983, the assassination of his chief

opponent, Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., led to his downfall in

early 1986 in a dramatic and peaceful transition of power that

amazed the world. Senator Aquino's widow, Corazon C. Aquino

became the country's first woman president.

This brief historical glimpse of the country and its people,

leads us to a short description of the governing system of the

country, and some of the latest developments in Philippine

history and government until early 1987. From the historical

perspective, the implications for education in the Philippines

are far fetching and significant. Philippine education can be

properly understood after considering the history of the country

since its early days of ancient culture to the present, with its

Asian-Western cultural admixture. Education in the Philippines

dates back to unrecorded history and has been shaped and

developed as the country experienced different forms of

government under colonial rulers and their educated indigenous

successor elites who, when in power provided the opportunity to

make fundamental changes in the educational system. 19 This

19James s. Coleman, in "Education," notes that one of the elements in the legacy of western education introduced in developing areas, such as the Philippines, is the "instrumentalist attitude" toward education, which, he explains, "is a consequence of the high valuation it [the developing countries] acquired under colonial conditions," in Frank Tachau, ed. The Developing Nations: What Path to Modernization? (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1972), p. 99.

After several centuries of colonial rule the Filipino/a has

historical background therefore, intends to put the reader in a

proper perspective, when and if social and economic values are

involved in development plans of the education system and the

governing system of the country, as a whole is discussed.

Government

The present government of the Philippines has undergone

several stages. The basic unit of government of the early

Filipino people in pre-Spanish times, was the barangay, headed by

a datu. These barangays were consolidated during the Spanish

regime, into towns or pueblos headed by the gobernadorcillo

(petty governor) and towns into provinces or alcaldias, headed by

the alcalde mayor. Under the Spanish regime, the Philippines was

governed by Spain through a governor-general. The form of

government might be considered unitary, since it was highly

centralized with the local branches dependent with their powers

on the central government.20

During the Spanish rule, certain internal factors that were

political, social and economic in nature, contributed greatly to

the common nationalistic feeling that ushered in the Philippine

revolution against Spain in 1896. Eventually, a new system of

imbibed in his consciousness the idea that the alien governing class was composed mainly of persons with higher education, and that "upward mobility into the more prestigious and remunerative roles available to the indigenous inhabitants in the modern sector of colonial society was usually determined by educational achievement alone,"in Ibid.

20Padilla, The Philippine Government, p. 15.

political administration was produced; i.e., a revolutionary

government was established, which underwent several stages of

aevelopment and change. The revolutionary activities were ruled

through the Katipunan (KKK), a secret society, headed by Andres

sonifacio; then replaced by the short-lived Republic of Biak-na

sato in 1897, when the revolutionary troops under the leadership

of General Emilio Aguinaldo surrendered to the Spanish military

armed forces. 21

With the outbreak of the Spanish-American war in 1898,

General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed himself head of a dictator

government, even while the Americans ruled the Philippines by

virtue of the Treaty of Paris (Dec. 1898), which ended the

Spanish-American War, and which provided for the ceding of the

Philippines by Spain to the United States. The dictator

government was later replaced by a revolutionary government,

later evolving in 1899 into the short-lived first Philippine

Republic, also known as the Malolos Republic.

The government under the American regime started with a

military rule from 1898-1901; followed by a civil rule from 1901

to 15 November 1935, with the inauguration of a Philippine

Commonwealth government (provided by the Tydings-McDuffie Law of

21The Philippine Government, p. 23; see also Gregorio F. Zaide, Philippine Poli ti cal History (Manila: The Modern Book, 1969); also Gregorio F. Zaide, Philippine Government Development, Organization (Manila: The Modern Book, 1969); also Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Government and Politics of the Republic of the Philippines (Quezon City: Alea Publishing Co. 1969).

The letters KKK stand for Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangan ng mga Anak ng Katipunan.

1916, as a ten-year transition government), with a constitution

that prescribed for a political system to be republican in form

and a presidential type, somewhat patterned after that of the

united States at that time. However, during the Second World War,

the Philippines experienced having two governments:

There was the de ju re government of the Commonweal th which continued to exist with its capital moved to Corregidor from Manila and within a few months later transferred to Washington, D. C. The other one was the de facto government organized by the Japanese military mainly based in Mani la. The two sets of government may also be ca~led 22the "occupation" government of the Commonwealth in exile.

A second Philippine republic known as the Japanese-Sponsored

Republic of the Philippines, was established after the Japanese

military rule, came to an end in 1944. The Commonwealth

government was re-established after the Japanese surrendered to

the American forces in 1945. This government later evolved into

the third Philippine Republic on 4 July 1946, the day the United

States granted independence to the Philippines. The Philippine

Republic was based on the constitution of 1935, which was adopted

for the Commonwealth of the Philippines under the United States.

The government was representative, presidential and unitary in

form, (see Chart I) .23 Under President Marcos' second term in

off ice, a Constitutional Convention met, starting from 1 June

1971 and ending in 30 November 1972, to amend and revise the 1935

22 rbid. I P• 47 o

23The government of the third Philippine Republic lasted until the adoption of the 1973 constitution under the martial law regime of President Marcos.

constitution. In the meantime, martial law was proclaimed by

president Marcos on September 1972. Ratification of the new

constitution, was held at a referendum on 10-15 January 1973.

The new constitution provided for a parliamentary form of

government, (see Chart II) that was not immediately put into

effect on 17 January 1973 -- the day P.D. No. 1102 certified and

proclaimed the ratification of the constitution -- which was also

recognized by the United Nations.24,25

From 1973, under the martial law regime, the government of

the Philippines was one referred to by President Marcos as a

"constitutional authoritarianism" and which could also be called

democratic dictatorship, for "state policies are under the sole

personal direction of a single leader who may refer such policies

to the people for approval. 11 26

24Philippine Government, p. 78.

25 . P.D. No. 86-A amending P.D. No. 86 provided for the creation of Barangay or Citizens Assemblies. These Assemblies were to decide the issues, instead of the Filipino people directly ratifying or voting for the Constitution of 1973. This decree also provided for the lowering of the voting age from eighteen to fifteen years old. The questions presented to the Assemblies were:

1. Do you approve of the new Constitution? 2. Do you still want a plebescite to be called to ratify the

new Constitution?

26 Philippine Government, p. 79; see also Liang Dapen, Philippine Political Parties and Politics (U.S. A.: Asiamera Research Institute, 1971). Since there is a contradiction in the two terms -- constitutional and authoritarianism, the description according to Padilla, "is fitting in reference to the government of Marcos martial rule", and explains further as such because "the government is constitutional deriving its authority from the provisions of the constitution, but is authoritarian in that it calls for unquestioning obedience of the authority," in Vicente Pacis, The New Constitution and the Philippine Parliamentary

There were important provisions relating to the political

system of the country, that were suspended in view of P.D. No.

1103, which "mandated that the interim National Assembly be not

convened" and pursuant to P.D. No. 1104, which provided for the

continuance of martial law. 27 As a consequence, President Marcos

assumed both executive and legislative powers; and all

proclamations and orders promulgated by him during the martial

law regime took ef feet as part of the laws of the Philippines

(see Chart III). 28

After the 1981 plebiscite, a modified parliamentary form of

government was established (see (Chart IV). This modified

government set-up provided for a president to be directly elected

by the people, and was patterned after the French political

system introduced by General Charles de Gaulle. 29 President

Government, 1979 ed., (Manila: JMC Press, Inc., 1973), p. 30, in Ibid.

The constitutional dictatorship of the new political system evolved during the martial law regime, when Pres. Marcos invoked one of his extraordinary powers embodied in the constitution to proclaim martial law and thereby acquired an authority from the provision which states that, "The President shall be Commanderin-Chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines, and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion or imminent danger thereof, when public safety requires it, he may suspend the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law," (Article VII, Sec. 10, 1935 Constitution and Art. IX, Sec. 12, 1973 Constitution), in Padilla, The Philippine Government, p. 79.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid., p. 96.

29 There were people as proposed 1981 plebescite:

three questions presented to the Filipino amendments to the 1973 Constitution in the

Marcos convincingly said to the Filipinos that he envisioned a

New Society in the Philippines, when he issued Presidential

proclamation 1081

explained:

the martial law proclamation, as he

What all of us ultimately want, I believe, is a resurgence of the moral will that surmounts every obstacle -- material and non-material -- in the road towards the full realization of the New Society. This, as I have said, is the work of generations, not only in terms of time, but in terms of contemporary solidarity -- the old and the young, men and women, the well-off no less than the poor. No one is a supernumerary in this society: every man and woman and child is needed. Everyone has his importance, worth and useful contributions.30

. Whether the intention is to recast, radicalize, transfer or modify the soci~r order, the result shall inevitably be a New Society.

President Marcos, then, looked forward to the realization of his

concept of a New Society. However, his leadership crumbled down

(1) Do you vote for the approval of an amendment to the Constitution and to Amendment No. 2, which in substance calls for the establishment of a modified parliamentary system, amending for this purpose Articles VI, VIII, and IX of the Constitution, with the following principal features . • . ? (2) Do you vote for the approval of an amendment to the Constitution of the Philippines, as proposed by the Batasang Pambansa in Resolution No. 3, which, in substance, institutes reforms, namely ... ? (3) Do you vote for the approval of an amendment of the Constitution of the Philippines, as proposed by the Batasang Pambansa in Resolution No. 1, which, in substance, pruvldes that a natural-born citizen if the Philippines who has lost Philippine citizenship may be a transferee of private land, for use by him as his residence, as the Batasang Pambansa shall provide ... ?

3°Ferdinand E. Philippines, p. 124,

31Ferdinand E. 116, in Ibid.

Marcos, Notes on the New Society of the in Ibid.

Marcos, Today's Revolution: Democracy, p.

during the "People Power" revolution in February of 1986,

ushering in a new leadership.

A new constitution, replacing the 1973 constitution, had

been approved by the Filipino people on 2 February 1987, under

the leadership of President Corazon Aquino, restoring a

democratic rule in the Philippines. The Philippines is still a

member of the United Nations Organization (UNO) and its

specialized agencies, including the World Bank Group, such as the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade (GATT), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It is an active member of the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN); Asian Development Bank (ADB); the International

Satellite (INTELSAT), etc.32 It was economically labelled as a

"middle-income developing" country by the World Bank.33

Considering this brief historical, social and political

backdrop of the country, we shall attempt to describe the

educational system in the following pages.

32"Philippines" Background Notes, p. 1

331983 International Q_evelopment: The World Bank, Volume II Social Data.

Bank for Reconstruction and World Tables, The Third Edition;

CHART I

• PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT UNDER THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

LEGISLATIVE EXECUTIVE JUDICIAL -CONGRESS

SUPREME COUR'I' Senate llous• of • PRESllJENT 1 Chief J ustlce

ll•pre .. ntatlve• Io Associates + (Upper House) (Lower llouae) •VICE· PRESIDENT COURT OF APPEALS (Cabinet) I I rresldlna Justice 24 members• 12 o members o

14 A~"1clate~ +. II' I I

I I I I ()!lice or lhe

I I rxeuJtive z I Scrrr.tuy

0 I I ..... ... I I I I I I I

u I I l><pt. of w ll•pl. or A1rl IJrpl of I llepl. of ,.

I culturr & Com111tri:r t.. l>•pt. nr I

Df'pt. or l'ort18n Notional .-l Natilesuurcu £Jucatlon l·lnance Aflnlu l>ofonae + Ill ·I +

lndu'\lr)' I + I + +-

I I . I I

llf'pt. of I

I > I ' l'uhlk \\llHk' llt pt. of I l>cpl o i Depl. of

~ ~ cn111111u11iu1 ll•allh I L1h11r J ustlce

11011 I + + + ELECTORATE I I

~ ' Cr•url or I Flnt • elected at large ELECTORATE ln!\tance

0 elected by rep. districts

+ appointed by the Pres. or thel'hils. Ju•llce of with the consent of Commlllee the Peace :

rnml on Appointments In Congrea.s . .. - -,.I now or responsiblllty Ulller_tilatu· ~ co-equal & co-ordinate tary Court•

Source: Padilla, 'The Philippine Government and the New Constitution, p. 62.

CHART II

STRUCTURE OF THE PHILIPPINE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Executive - Legislative Judicial

CEREMONIAL SOVEREIGN

PRESIDENT

The Political Set-Up of the Phlls. as Inter· preted according lo the I 973 Constitution and P.D.No. 1033

LEGAL U::C~,.----=====---.:m .. ,;o·-.,.q,q, ACTll AL SOVEREIGN c;:s:· 'SOVEHEIGN

LEGISLATIVE

BATASANG PAMUANSA ·Incumbent Pres. ·Members of

Cabinet o ·Regional Rep.

I 20 members •

ELECTORATE Divided Into 13 Regions

" .c .: u c ·h u • u u i.::"'

~ ":)j_j

i,EGENIJ:

EXECln IV!:

l'rlme Minister Deputy Prime M irdster & Cohlnet (llept<.)

E ·C " ~

Supreme Court

City Court

_,. indicates how officials an• to he recommended, chosen and administered. - . -> indicates where respomihility is lodged.

O memhers (Cabinet men) & nthers to he appointed by the PM (Pres.) memhers In be elected hy l''>l'lllnr vote, by region or sector

(unresolved direct nr indirect election) indicates executive exercic.in!! kgislative powers

Source: Padilla, The Philippine Government and the New Constitution, p. 88.

N ote--Presidency and premiership were held concurrently by Marcos under Article XVII of the 1973 Conslilulion.

,. _________ L~-------~ Interim National Assembly I

-----------------~

I I L ( Not formed as of the end of 1975)

Sangguniang Bayan

I Sangg'lrniang I

Bayon I I

Sangguniang Bayan

Commissions

Civil Service Elections Audit

Chartered Cities I I

President I I Office of the President I

.. Cabinet I Supreme Court I

Prime Minister

Departments I Court of Appea Is I ...

I Provinces Sandiganbayan \ Courts of First Military l Instance Tribun1Jls

I Municipal Courts I Municipalities I City Courts I Municipal Districts

Barangays I J>hilippi111'.'{, /11f<"ri111 Orf111llizafio11 <~((;01•1"r111111·11t11l S,11sf1•111 1111t!cr llf11rtia/ l,t111', 197'.'i

CHART III

LEGISLATIVE

LEGAL SOVEREIGN

llotasanr P1mban11 •uoo Memben)

13 Regions

CHART IV

PHILIPPINE SEMI-PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

Per October 16, 1978 & April 7, 1981 Amendments (~ludilied Form)

EXECUTIVE

ACTllAL"' CF.RF.MONIAL SOY.

PRlSllJFNT or the Philippines

J~>1.ecullve Commltter ..

l'rlm• ~ll11i<ler - - - - - - -, 1 Meiubc1r:

& Cabh1et111en

ELECTORAlE al large

LEGENIJ:

--- - -,). ..

JUDlclAL

Suprtmt Cowrt

Intermediate Appell1t1 Trlel Court

Mode or Choice (Appoint· ment or election)

Rosponslblllly Is lodged executive exercising l•gislallve powers •rpnlnl•d by the P101ldenl elected by "glon or stclor or at large

Source: Padil!a, The Philippine Gdvernment and the New Constitution, p. 101.

60 •

Educational System Prior to 1972 -The development of the Philippine educational system

following the country's history, is characterized by the various

changes related to the political ideology and cul tu re of the

different sovereign powers which have controlled the government.

This pattern is summarized in Carson's statement when he says

that, "in form, if not in content, the educational system of the

Republic of the Philippines appears as an amalgam of Spanish and

American patterns."34

History. During the pre-Spanish era, education in the

Philippines was entirely informal or primitive. In the sixteenth

century, shortly after Spain occupied the Philippines, education

was carried on in a more or less sporadic and unorganized manner.

Roman Catholic missionaries started parish schools, which later

developed into a widespread private education system. Other

colleges were added in the late sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries. Their curricula focused on classical studies,

humanities, and law. Scientific and technological faculties in

fields like medicine, pharmacy, engineering, and the basic

sciences were added later.35

One of the first things the American military regime did was

to establish public schools pat terned after the Arner ican

educational system operating at that time. The first teachers,

34carson, Story of Philippine Education, p. 246.

35There are to this day institutions established by the Spaniards, that are still active in the Philippine educational scene. See Carson, The story of Philippine Education, p. 5.

aside from the American soldiers, were a group of Americans,

called the "Thomasi tes," who were recruited by the American

government. The Americans then, laid the foundations for a well

organized system which was at first stressing academic work in

the school curriculum. The English language was used as medium of

instruction. During this period, primary education was expanded,

and secondary, university, and professional education were

strengthened. 36

Under the Japanese occupation in 1941, the schools whlch

were highly centralized, were made the vehicle or instrument to

propagate the Japanese doctrine of a "Greater East Asia Co

Prosper i ty Sphere." Nippongo, the Japanese language, was taught

as a subject and used as medium of instruction. 37

The 1935 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines

provided that a complete and adequate system of education with at

least free public primary education for all children of school

age be established and maintained. Hence, the Philippines had an

educational system consisting of elementary, secondary and

tertiary education.

The administrative and supervisory organization of the

Philippine school system was highly centralized (until 1973). The

authority of planning, controlling, and decision-making was

centralized in one person the secretary of education, who

headed the Department of Education and delegated powers to staff

36 rbid., p. 6.

37Gregorio, Introduction to Education, p. 16.

and line officers under him.

For purposes of state control and supervision, all

educational ins ti tut ions in the Philippines were classified as

follows: ( 1) public schools, under the Bureau of Public Schools

with responsibility for the public elementary system and for

aiding and supervising the public secondary schools operated by

local governments; (2) vocational public schools, under the

Bureau of Vocational Education and responsible for all vocational

schools; (3) private educational institutions, under the Bureau

of Private Schools with the responsibility for supervising

private schools from the elementary level through college; and

( 4) chartered educational ins ti tut ions, not directly under the

Department of Education, but governed by their respective Board

of Trustees, with the Secretary of Education as ex-officio

chairman. These chief units of the department were functioning

largely independently. 38 However, to facilitate school

administration and supervision of the public school system, the

whole country was divided into school divisions under the

administration and supervision of a Division Superintendent of

Schools. 39 Private schools and institutions, either sectarian

or non-sectarian, were governed by their own governing board.

They also had supervising units in the division level, but were

not active in program governance.

38Priorities and Prospects for Development, p.295.

39Gregorio, Introduction to Education, pp. 21-22.

Educational System: Post 1972 -Presidential Decree 1081 the military decree of 1972,

provided for government reforms and the creation of a New

society. Officials of the Department of Education and the bureaus

under it, together with the military authorities worked out plans

to implement the decree for the education sector while all

schools were ordered closed. Administrators of all educational

institutions were instructed to formulate guidelines and

arrangements whereby schools would be authorized to resume

classes with provisions for maximum security. 40 With the

completion of such guidelines and arrangements, President Marcos

ordered the reopening of classes starting with the elementary

schools, followed by the secondary schools, and then, by some

selected colleges and universities. Full operation of schools was

toward the end of October 1972. 41

Administration and Organization. In 1973, a new

constitution was adopted, which placed all educational

institutions, public or private, under state supervision and

regulation. To carry out this constitutional mandate and to

accomplish the aims of education of the New Society, the

executive branch of the government was reorganized, based on an

integrated reorganization plan. This plan was made official by

Presidential Decree No. 1 -- the decree which provided for the

40 This was to keep the so-called radical elements alleged subversives from organizing mass demonstrations rallies in school campuses.

41Gregorio, Introduction to Education, pp. 56-57.

and or

reorganization of the government structure and functions.

The reorganization plan of the government under the reform

program of the New Society of the Philippines, brought about

major changes in the Philippine educational system in structure

and curriculum content. First, the name Department of Education

was changed to Department of Education and Culture, in order to

emphasize the role of education in the economic and cultural

development of the country. The three levels of education

super?ised by the Department of Education: Bureau of Public

schools; Bureau of Vocational Education; and Bureau of Private

Schools were replaced by a Bureau of Elementary Education, Bureau

of Secondary Education, and a Bureau of Higher Education (see

Chart V). Secondly, to facilitate the administration and

supervision of the school system, the whole country was divided

into regions, headed by a regional director. Under the regions

were the di vision off ices, headed by di vision superintendents,

assisted by di vision supervisors. On the local level were the

district offices under a district supervisor.

The eleven regions were: Region 1 (!locos Region); Region 2

(Cagayan Valley Region); Region 3 (Central Luzon Region); Region

4 (Southern Tagalog Region); Region 5 (Bicol Region); Region 6

(Western Visayas Region); Region 7 (Central Visayas Region);

Region 8 (Eastern Visayas Region); Region 9 (Western Mindanao

Region); Region 10 (Northern Mindanao Region); and Region 11

(Southern Mindanao Region).

CHART V

ORGANIZATION CHART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE: 1976

liNmL1GcN'cC1 I SECURITYJI

L-~N..!!.._

NATIONAL MUSEUM

• .. o, o•OANlllD

PROFESSIONAL] BOARDS

BOARD or CENSORS

ll.SSISTANT SECRETARY

::HILD/YOUTH R(S[A~CH

CENTER

SECRETARY

or EDUCATION AND CULTURE

~------~ D. or TllUSTEES II! E <:._~L_L_S~~IV.

UNDERSECRETARY OF EDUCATION & OJLT\JRE

60VR<:t 0£.P•RTMC.NT or [QUC.t.t10~ ANO CULlUR('

NATIONAL BOARD or

EDUCATION

EDPITAr

ll.SSISTANT SECRETARY

DOA RD OF HIGl-CR EDUCATION

IT Art IUUA.US IJ1

OTHER CUL TllRAL AGENCIES

BUREAU or HIGHER

EDUCATION

~~~~ ~~~~

HIGHER EDUCATION

DIVISION

CHART VI

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J'A..f.AIA,,N& d1.,,.1.l10N

llt•"C: ti.I" &ION VII I

In June 1978, when the Philippines converted from a

presidential form of government to a parliamentary form, all the

departments became ministries. Then, to emphasize the importance

of the physical development of the youth, sports was added as

another function of the ministry. Hence, the Department of

Education became the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports

(see Chart VI}.

In this organizational structure, the professional viewpoint

was that the new arrangement would be a logical one which should

greatly enhance the quality of government services. One basic

feature is the organization of regional off ices headed by

regional directors with staff bureaus and service groups. 42 The

reorganized system would also make possible the exercise of

initiative, imagination, and leadership in curriculum development

and innovations in addition to administrative matters that could

be handled at both central and regional level. The organization

by levels of education allowed for a high degree of

specialization by the headquarters staff, and was expected to

bring about faster implementation of educational reform

programmes. It was a bold presumption that this new structure

would minimize the distinction between the public and private

42under the Reorganization Plan of 1972, there were eleven geographic regions, enumerated previously, which were created for effective administration of the Philippine educational system. However, the number of regions was increased under the MECS, with the passage of P.O. No. 742 and P. D. 879; thus in addition to the eleven, Region 12 (Central Mindanao Region and Region 13 (Metropolitan Manila}, or popularly called the National Central Region, were created. See 1978 Election Code, in Padilla, The !:_hilippine Government and the New Constitution, pp. 89-94.

schools since institutional levels, public or private fall under

their own category in the Ministry, e.g., all elementary schools,

public or private, are under the Bureau of Elementary Education.

Structure of education. Formal education is composed of

optional pre-school programs, such as the nursery schools,

kindergartens and preparatory schools; elementary school, which

is four years of primary and two years of intermediate school;

and a variety of postsecondary programs, including universities,

colleges, technical and vocational schools, academies,

seminaries, and ins ti tut es. There are also special schools for

exceptional children and for those who have dropped out of

various academic programs, and a variety of adult education

programs. Examinations have been developed that would enable

persons to receive credit at the elementary, secondary, or

tertiary level for knowledge and skills acquired outside of

formal educational programs. Non-formal education consists of

adult literacy skills training, youth clubs, and community

programs of instruction in health, nutrition, family planning and

cooperatives and are supervised by the Ministry of Education.

Educational radio and television programs and correspondence

courses have been developed. A special graduate program for

teachers who cannot commute to a university uses a combination of

radio program and correspondence materials.

The formal education system in the Philippines is either run

by the government or by private persons or corporations. All

PUblic elementary schools are supported by the national

government, while the academic program of public secondary

education is supported by the local governments: provincial,

municipal and chartered cities. 43

The academic year for all levels of education starts in June

and ends in March. There are two months of summer vacation (April

and May) when classes or programs are also offered for students

who want to enroll. Students and pupils are evaluated or graded

periodically, the grading period depends on the policy of a

particular school, but generally set for five to six grading

periods.

The number of years required to complete the elementary and

secondary levels are six and four years respectively, while the

tertiary level requires at least four years for an academic

degree. In general, ages from seven to twelve cover attendance in

the first level, thirteen to sixteen years old in the secondary

level, and seventeen years old and up in the tertiary level, (see

chart VII).

The Philippines has a dual system of public and private

education. Private institutions account for almost all of the

pre-school enrollment and about 83 percent of the tertiary

enrollment. However, due to increasing operating costs, many

private institutions are closing shop. The majority of the

secondary and postsecondary schools are private-owned, and are

either sectarian or nonsectarian, registered as either stock,

non-stock or foundation.

43Education for National Development, p. 131.

CHART VII

Structure of the Philippine Educational System by Years

Years of

Age - ---------- --25 I - Graduate I 24

I -23 Students I

- I 22 I

c. 41 - - ------ - -1

20 Four-Year I

19 c. 3 1 College

18 coll. 2\ i I

17 coll. 1 I I

-- - - -- - - -'-16 H.S. 4 I 15 H.S. 3 I

SECONDARY

14 H. S. 2 l EDUCATION

13 H.S. 1 I

H I G H E R

E D u c

-- - - -

Medicine

Engineering

Agriculture, Commerce, Teacher education, Liberal Arts, and similar curricula

General and

Vocational High Schools

- - _,_ -12 Intermediate Gr. vI/ ELE!-1E· NT ARY 11

Intermediate Gr.V I Primary Grade IV I Primary Gr-:ide I~T l.i.

I Primary Grade II I Primary Grade I I Kindergarten

(Optional Pre-school

Education)

EDUCATION

Source: UNESCO, Regional Office for Education in Asia, Bangkok, Progress of Education in the Asian Region, Second Statistical Supplement, (Bangkok, 1977) p. 49.

Education in public schools is free through elementary

school (grade six). Public elementary schools are established in

almost every barangay or barrio. However, due to the shortage of

classrooms, teachers, and lack of family resources and student

interest, many students do not matriculate through grade six.

State colleges and universities are funded by government

contributions and by tuition, fees, production income, alumni

support, and public donations. Private institutions are financed

largely by tuition and fees; they do not receive government

funds. Auxiliary sources of income are from donations and fund

raising activities. Some of the nonprofit private institutions

such as mission schools operated by churches or foundations

receive grants from foreign agencies and benefactors, but these

are usually not a major source of assistance. Proprietory

institutions are permitted a certain small percentage as return

on their investment.

In order to operate, each school in the Philippines must be

recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture. To be

officially recognized does not constitute the accreditation of a

school in the u. s. sense. It serves only as an indication that

the program involved meets the minimum standards set by the

government.

Language of Instruction. The language of instruction is

crucial in education of any form, be it formal or informal. It is

an important factor that determines the effectiveness of the

educative process; the facility with which the teacher and the

pupils can communicate.

The success of the Philippine educational system in

general and the effectiveness of classroom instruction, in

particular had been adversely affected by the problems and

difficulties that have continued to impinge upon the language of

instruction. 44 It had even been said that the cultural/social

and economic development of the country had been slowed down by

the changing, and sometimes inconsistent, national policies

governing the language or languages of instruction.45

Under the Bilingual Education Policy of 1973, the local

dialect or vernaculars, e.g., Cebuano, Ilocano, Ifugao, etc, or

the mother-tongues are not officially recognized as languages of

education for initial literacy and numeracy. 46 English and

Filipino are the official languages of education. The local

vernacular or mother-tongue may be used as an auxiliary language

of instruction. English and Filipino are also taught as

subjects. 4 7 Before 197 3, English was the official language of

44vitaliano Bernardino, "Language in Philippine Education Past, Present and Future, 11 in Perspectives in Philippine Education: A Collection of Speeches and Unpublished Writings of Vitaliano Bernardino (Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines: Philippine Public School Teachers Association, Inc., 1982), p. 263.

45 Ibid.

46Andrew Gonzalez, The Language Situation in Philippine Sch<;>ols, 11 in Serafin Guingona, Issues in Philippine Education (Phi Delta Kappa Manila, Philippines Chapter, 1982) p. 9

47spanish (for its cultural value), is taught as a required su~j~ct in higher education, although it is also taught in some Philippine high schools.

instruction at all other levels of education, with Filipino

studied as a subject. Since the 1974-75 academic year, Filipino

has been gradually introduced as a medium of instruction in all

ievels. In Mindanao with a large Muslim population, Arabic is

used as medium of instruction, in the Madrasahs, or Muslim Arabic

schools.

problems of Philippine education

Prior to the report of the Presidential Commission to Survey

Philippine Education, there were serious problems and imbalances

that plagued the education system. This section, will enumerate

and discuss briefly some of these major problems, which are discussed

further in the following chapter.

Quality of elementary and secondary education. There

has been enough evidence to indicate that educators are taking

for granted the quality of Philippine education which has been

declining. 49 Since 1960, enrollment in the elementary level had

been rapidly expanding at about 4 percent a year. This yearly

increases in enrollment can be attributed to the country's rapid

rate of population increase. Schools could not cope with the

increasing enrollment; there was a critical shortage of

classrooms and textbooks, In some areas of the country, there

were make-shift classrooms; sometimes one classroom was used by

two classes on an alternating basis.

49Jaime C. Laya, Response, "Education and Philippines).

"Education in Cul tu re Journal

The textbook problem was

Crisis: Challenge and (Mees, Republic of the

even more serious. A World Bank survey found that the pupil-

textbook ratio was 10: 1 and about 79 percent of the available

textbooks were more than five years old. There was also a short

supply of teaching aids and materials which have greatly

handicapped the teaching staff in their work. Eventually, there

was a low-quality education, a high drop-out and repeaters rate

especially at the upper grades of elementary education. 50 A t

the secondary level, the chief problem was also the poor quality

of education, attributed largely to the relatively short cycle of

schooling, inappropriate curriculum, and inadequate financing.

Compared to other Asian countries, like Korea and Thailand

that had a six-years secondary cycle, the Philippines had a four

years. This did not adequately prepare the students to take

college or degree programs. Most students finish high school at

age sixteen, which was considered an immature age (considering

the nature of Filipino adolescents}, to make independent

occupational choices. The secondary curriculum was the

traditional two-two plan, or the two-year vocational and two-year

academic curriculum. Students graduating from high school, who

could not go on to higher education, found themselves unprepared

for the world of work. Vocational training was not adequate

enough for the required occupational skills owing to poor and

inadequate vocational equipment and facilities. Financing

seconaary schools was also primarily from student tuition and

50The Philippines: Priorities and Prospects for Development, p. 287.

fees, resulting in the same shortage and deficiencies experienced

bY elementary schools; lower salary scale of secondary teachers

compared to elementary teachers, and a much greater variation of

. . d t. 51 quality in e uca ion.

Rationalizing higher education. Higher education provided

by public and private institutions were also faced with serious

problems. As reported by the presidential commission, 11 state

[higher] institutions [were] inadequately financed, staffed, and

equipped." The same was true with the private educational sector.

Because of inadequate budgets and relatively unrestricted

admissions, higher institutions operated and concentrated on low-

cost fields of study, such as; teaching training, liberal arts,

commerce and business administration. Some private institutions

had inadequate facilities, underqualif ied and overburdened

faculty. 52

Administration of the formal education system. There had

been a lack of coordination of educational policies and programs

brought about by organizational problems of the education system.

Educational administration had unnecessary constraints making it

difficult to formulate a formal systematic educational planning.

The Board of National Education, for instance, had statutory

functions that were too broad and unrealistic; thereby, it failed

to produce long-range educational plans. As a consequence, it had

not been able to contribute significantly to educational

51 rbid., 290.

53 development.

There were two features of the administrative system of

Philippine education that stood out: (1) there was a high degree

of centralization of decision-making that made the Secretary of

Education responsible for even those functions that were of a

local nature; (2) administrative offices were sector-oriented,

rather than function or service-oriented, i.e., segmentation of

education responsibility into public, private and vocational.

Inevitably, the educational system had been plagued with problems

concerning effectiveness and difficulties in formulating,

adopting and implementing educational plans.

Educational financing. The percentage share of education in

the national budget had been declining over the years due to

shifts in national priorities. The implication of this was that

it was a financial burden for schools to meet the efforts of

accommodating an increasing enrollment and to improve the quality

of education which required tremendous resources in the form of

teachers, classrooms, desks, books, and the other materials

necessary to basic education.

A more detailed discussion of the above major problems and

issues facing education in the Philippines, and how the education

sector is meeting the challenge will be discussed in the

following chapters.

53 rbid., pp. 152-153.

CHAPTER III

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO SURVEY PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

This chapter examines how the commission undertook a

thorough study and assessment of Philipppine education in order

to analyze the system's performance and relevance to national

development goals. It includes a description of the objectives of

the survey; strategy for attaining the objectives; the survey

methodology; the major findings and recommendations of the

commission. Finally, some of the relevant policy and policy

recommendations suggested by the commission are included in this

chapter.

The Report of the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine

Education (PCSPE)

On 24 December 1969, President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued

Executive Order No. 202, which provided for the creation of the

Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE). 1

The creation of the commission was in response to the need to

assess and improve the educational system and make it responsive

to the "challenge of modernization and the goals of national

development."2 The commission therefore was to undertake a

1The full text of Executive Order No. 202 is found in Appendix B.

2Philippines, (Republic). Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education, Education for National Development: New ~tterns, New Directions (Rizal, 1970).

thorough study of the Philippine educational system and assess

its programs in order to make necessary recommendations for

policy implementation and to provide data that would interest

outside funding agencies such as the World Bank.

The commission was composed of a chairman, Onofre D. Corpuz;

vice-chairman, Placido L. Mapa, Jr.; and five members: Horacio de

la Costa, Abelardo G. Samonte, Miguel B, Gaffud, Sixto K. Roxas

and Aurelio 0. Elevazo. The Commission had the following

functions and responsibilities, provided for in Executive Order

No. 202, namely: (1) to adopt and prescribe guidelines that would

govern the survey proper; ( 2) avail of existing legal funds to

support the research; (3) solicit assistance from both government

and non-government sources in order to discharge its functions;

(4) defray all expenses of the survey, including personnel's

compensation; and (5) perform acts deemed necessary for the

proper discharge of its functions and responsibilities.

In 1970, the commission submitted to the President, its

landmark report entitled: Education for National Development:

New Patterns New Directions (see Appendix C). Most of this

document concerns itself with a number of major proposals and

recommendations for a total reform of the Philippine educational

system. 3 These recommendations were based on the terms and

3Regular economic reports are prepared by the World Bank for borrowing countries as bases for discussions with governments for Policies and decisions. The World Bank had its own reports on t~e Philippines to provide background material for discussions ~~th the government and documentation for bank officials when P ~y consider loans to the country. (See The Philippines: _!iorities and Prospects for Development (World Bank, 1976).

objectives of Executive Order No. 202. However, before the

commission implemented its survey, quidelines were set, which

consisted of (1) the objectives providing the direction and scope

of the survey; and (2) the strategy by which the objectives were

to be attained.

Q.._bjectives of the Survey 4

To implement the survey, the commission first, set out their

objectives based on the directions defined under Executive Order

No. 202. These objectives were classified into: broad and

specific objectives. The broad objectives were first directed at

reviewing and analyzing the performance of the educational system

and its relevance to national development goals. Secondly, it

intended to give or suggest recommendations for improving the

educational system according to priority needs. Thirdly, the

survey was aimed at identifying which critical areas of

Philippine education needed more detailed study and research. 5

The specific objectives provided for detailed examination of

specific areas of the system. This included the contributions of

education toward the development of human resources for future

manpower needs, aims and contents, instructional strategies,

logistics, administration and staffing, and financing.

4For the full text of the Objectives of the Survey, see Appendix B (Executive Order No. 202).

SEducation for National Development, p. VII-VIII.

RES&i\RUH STRATEnY/IMPLEMEN'l'ATlON

EDUCATIONAL SECTOR

Manpower/Curriculum/Logistics/Administration/ Finance/Higher Ed/Teacher Ed/Science Ed/VocTech

STATE OF DATA AVAILABILITY

EXISTING -+[economic ]+.ON-GOING SOURCES demog~aphic STUDIES INCLUDING educational PAST SURVEYS Ill AND REVIEWS ..

Review of Current ~ Situation __,,,.-

(For a sector)

EDUCATIONAL REVIEW FACTORS

(Specified in Review Guidelines)

EXISTING DATA

DEVELOPMENT GOALS

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

EXISTING POLICIES ENVIRONMENTAL SETI ING

• Evaluation and Analysis

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

Nat io1111I Development Educational Goals & Objectives

Derived Criteria Expert Opinions/St11ternents International Comparison

Sectoral Review

Recommendations

1. STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND

FEASIBILITY STUDIES 2. FOR FURTHER IN-DEPTH STUDIES

.. ___ INTEGRATION/COORDINATION OF SECTORAL STUDIES ___ ..

• NATIONAL SURVEY REPORT

Source 1 IDiucation fon National Deveil.opment, p. 218.

UHART VIII

_§!rategy for Attaining the Objectives

After the appointment of commission members, working groups

were organized to deal with defined aspects of the survey. Under

the direction of a commission member, each group drew upon a wide

selection of specialists and consultants. Broadly then, the study

proceeded through the following steps: (1) data gathering, (2)

analysis and evaluation, and (3) the formulation of

recommendations (see Chart VIII).6

In the course of the survey, the commission collated and

reformulated the aims and objectives of the educational system in

consonance with the development goals of the nation and according

to operating conditions. Various aspects of the educational

system were analyzed and tested according to such aims and

objectives. These aspects were: (1) human resources and manpower

development; (2) contents and methods; (3) logistics of

education; (4) administration of educational system; (5)

financing; and (6) formulation of alternatives.7

Human Resources and Manpower Development. Did the education

system produce production-oriented graduates? This aspect of the

educational system was analyzed in order to meet the manpower

requirements for the social and economic growth of the nation.

Included in the study were: (1) the distribution of students

6see also Arthur L. Carson, The Story of Philippine ~ucation (Quezon City: New Day Publishers), p. 19.

7Ibid., p. XI.

among various .levels and programs together with the absorption

of graduates and leavers into the economy; ( 2) the geographical

distribution of educational responsibilities between the private

and the public sectors; and (3) the division of the educational

process between the first, second, and third stages as well as

between formal and non-formal education.

Contents and Methods. Were the methods employed in the

educational process development-oriented? The question of whether

the educational system had the capacity to meet human resources

development goals was one main issue which the commission

emphasized in its survey. The extent to which methods of

instruction were able to reinforce or generate goals that were

development-oriented, was assessed with a view to identifying

which areas could be modified and improved. The survey included

the analysis and evaluation of curricula and courses of study,

that were capable of generating the development goals of the

nation.

Logistics of Education. How effective and efficient was the

administration of the educational system? The administration of

the educational system was one critical area studied by the

commission, since it included the programming and physical

planning function of the educational system. The examination of

this area involved the collection and processing of educational

data. Then comparisons were made if it met the requirements of

educational planners and decision-makers. The management and

staffing of the educational system were also examined. special

attention was paid to: the degree of centralization; the

distribution of authority over educational matters among the

various government agencies and the process by which decisions

were made and; the recruitment, development, employment,

retention and loss of the teaching personnel. 8

Financing. The availability of funds can dictate the extent

of efficiency to which the educational system can operate. In the

1960s, funding of the educational system did not match the

unusually large enrollments. 9 The commission's task was to spell

out some outside sources of funding which would be matched with

current and expected availabilities, in order to arrive at a cost

analysis that would provide a basis for the introduction of a

cost-effectiveness system. 10 Then, from these tests, feasible

recommendations for alternative sources of financing were

suggested by the commission.

The Survey Methodology

The terms of reference of the commission survey called for a

comprehensive review of the Philippine educational system to be

conducted in eight months. With such a time constraint, primary

attention was directed to only the major aspects of Philippine

education that were possible subjects of policy reform. In

addition, analysis of various aspects of particular areas was

8Ibid., p. XIII.

9Priorities and Prospects for Development, p. 285.

lOPhilippines, Education for National Development, p. XIII.

attempted with the help and work of special area groups. This

limited the scope of the survey to reviewing: human resources and

manpower development; contents and methods of educational

programs; the logistics of education; financing the educational

system; and the administration of the system.

The commission's survey was carried out under a project

director, Dr. Manuel S. Alba. He was assisted by technical and

support staff of local and foreign consultants and resource

persons in specialized areas . 11 Work plans were implemented by

special area groups that were set up. Then group reports were

submitted to the commission's technical coordinating committee as

basis for the commission to develop and propose recommendations.

The Commission's Findings

Major findings. Initially, the commission noted in its

report the basic strength of the Philippine educational system.

This strength flowed "from the virtually unanimous high regard in

which schooling [was] held by its people." Contingent upon this

fact was that enrollment ratios in the country were one of the

highest in the world. This observation was already noted by the

report from the World Bank.12,13

It is also interesting to note that in any survey, the

11carson, Story of Philippine Education. p. 21.

12Education for National Development, pp. 26-27.

l3world Bank, Priorities and Prospects for Development, p. 285.

general tendency is to always be critical about forces and

circumstances that have attenuating effects: in this case, it was

the forces that hampered the Philippine educational system's

capacity to meet development needs of the country. Some of these

negative forces were so prevalent in the system, that it did not

need a survey to come up with these findings. The commission,

however, affirmed some of these principal negative forces in

their report. In the first place, the objectives prescribed for

Philippine education, were the same as those for the entire

social system the Philippine society in this case.

Consequently, these were unachievable aims for the educational

system alone. It was far from possible, for instance, to

"inculcate spiritual values" without the support of society. Much

has to be said also about the situation in far-flung areas of the

archipelago that were predominantly pagan, or where customs and

traditions were still considered the law of society. 1 4,15

The purpose of education was another negative factor. What

was observed was that the primary purpose of education that was

in practice, was to prepare the student for the next higher year

of schooling, instead of preparing him for a worthwhile place in

society. In some rural areas, for instance, children must go to

school to learn how to read and write without regard to the fact

14carson, Story of Philippine Education, p. 36: also, !_ducation for National Development, p. 8.

15This term "pagan" usually refers to some tribal Filipinos Who are not converted to Christianity or Islam, or who believe in their own "Gods of the Underworld."

that when they drop out or finish schooling, they would go back

to work in the rice fields, farms and kaingins (sweet po ta to

patches). The educational system should aim at producing the

needed manpower for the country's development and progress.16

A third factor was the rapid rate of population increase.

This problem generated tremendous continuing pressures on school

facilities and national resources, because there was an ever

increasing school enrollment as a result of the country's rapidly

increasing population. Finally, there was an absence of planning

and implementation programming. This only encouraged ad hoc

measures that appeared to be solutions but were in fact sources

of further difficulties. Consequently, without effective tools

against these negative forces, Philippine education was easily

plagued by serious distortions or imbalances among: popular

expectations and educational standards; facilities and

enrollments; supply of graduates and demand for specific manpower

skills; and location of educational facilities and actual

regional development needs. It was argued, that if these

distortions and imbalances were not remedied, it would pose a

grave national problem in the future. Solutions that would meet

the people's expectations and national development requirements

were necessary, in order to prevent future social crises. 1 7

Other findings. The report also presented important and

significant findings that would serve as bases for future

16 rbid.

educational policies, planning and reforms. The following

subsections will describe and analyze these significant findings.

Significant statistical data was presented by the commission

which indicated the dimensions of Philippine commitment to

education. They also discussed the efficiency of such resources

that were allocated to education by analyzing the character of

the allocations in relation to the performance of each

educational level and to the value and magnitude of various

educational inputs and outputs.

Commission findings stated in quantitative terms that the

decade of the 1970s saw an increase in the enrollment at all

levels of the educational ladder through time. It had been noted

that enrollment at all levels was relatively large for a country

with low per capita income. The high rate of population growth

(and low per capita), aside from the people's high regard for

education, was seen as a major contributing factor in the

increase in enrollments. Compared to the ratios of other

countries on enrollment for both elementary and secondary

education and graduate percentages, the Philippines educated as

high a proportion of its people as the advanced countries (see

Table I). This situation of a developing country supporting a

huge school enrollment implied that there were some imbalances or

distortions within the system. 18

18rbid., pp. 29-32.

TABLE I

International Comparative Education Ratios (For Selected Countries and for Selected Years

-----------------------------------------------------------------A. Higher Education

(Enrollment per 100,000

population)

B. First and Second Level Education (Adjusted school enrollment

ratios)* -----------------------------------------------------------------

Countries** 1950 1965-66 1950 1965

United States 1,500 2,840

Philippines 902 1,560 70 83

Israel 1,400 1,488 92 82

Australia 441 1,159 93 92

Japan 471 1,140 91 93

Sweden 241 903 80 85

Taiwan 87 687 74 77

Germany,Republic 216 632 83 90

England (and Wales) 241 579 102*** 98

Italy 310 583 59 70

Spain 198 417 70 75

Mexico 136 312 58 66

India 113 235 34 (1963)44

Thailand 141 166 54 44

*Ratio of enrollment to population for corresponding age-groups

**Listed in order of Higher Education Ratios

***Ratios above 100 indicate enrollment of over-age children.

SOURCE: UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1968

In preschool education, there was a significant development

in terms of both enrollment and number of institutions. Education

at this level was primarily under the auspices of the private

sector as government participation was minimal. It was also noted

that enrollment in all levels, especially in colleges or the

higher institutions, had also been increasing at a fast rate.

The composition of enrollment had also undergone significant

changes in the past decades (see Table II).

TABLE II

ENROLLMENT PROJECTION

Elementary Secondary Collegiate Total

School year NO. %Change NO. %Change NO. %Change NO. %change

1970-1971 7,338,970 2,163,820 795,310

13.68% 38.97% 63.83%

1974-1975 8,342,830 3,007,000 1,302,960

8.05 27.83 33.87

1979-1980 9,206,510 4,164,910 1,916,440

--------------

SOURCE: Education for National Development, p. 32.

10,298,100 22.87%

12,652,790 15.72

15,287,860

-----------------------------------------------------------------This was so, the commission argued, because the Filipinos

had expressed clearly their economic aspirations through

education; thus, students could pursue fields where employment

opportunities were relatively better, such as in engineering, or

in those fields which absorb large numbers of graduates such as

business and education. However, the strong desire for education

in the absence of education policy and planning inevitably

resulted in the rapid expansion of the educational system at the

expense of quality. The rapidly increasing enrollment could not

be accommodated without sacrifice to quality. Moreover, resources

and time allotment needed to develop quality faculty were not

provided, according to commission findings.

It was also found that employment of educated manpower was

still a perennial problem. Schools produced the so-called

"educated unemployed. ti There was a low rate of utilization of

educated manpower which meant a waste of the resources spent on

education intended to increase employment probability and income.

The educational problem that emerged from the manpower situation

was summarized as follows: First, for higher education, there was

an oversupply of a sizeable number of college-trained manpower. 19

The situation therefore warranted and encouraged some bold

recommendations that should in effect cut down college or higher

education enrollment. These involved policy recommendations that

would raise quality education through accreditation, selective

admissjon and better career counseling programs in high school,

proper dissemination on the labor and education shortage. 20

19 rbid., 40. The term "manpower ti was an economic concept, useful for

economic planners and not warmly received by student, nor encouraged by their families, especially the illiterate ones.

. 20The term manpower connotes manual work or "blue-collar" Jobs, and hence was not appealing to young folks especially from the rural areas.

Another important dimension noted was that the educational

responsibility of the government was very uneven among the three

levels. The bulk of the national education budget was for the

support of public schools especially in the elementary level, but

its participation rate in providing for secondary and especially

higher education was small. This minimal government support had

deep implications on the quality of education at these levels

(see Tables III and III-a).

TABLE III

Yearly-Per Student Direct Cost of Public and Private Philippine Education for 1966 and by Educational

Level (in Pesos, 1966 Prices)

Educational Level

Primary

Intermediate

Tuition and

General Secondary 43

Vocational 45

College Normal 60

Other College 388

----------------

Public Educ. Total (Operating) Public

and Expenditures Capital Costs)

113 113

292 335

397 442

295 355

973 1,361

Private Educ. (Total, Direct)

Source: Calculations from data obtained from the Annual Report, Bureau of Public Schools and The 1966 Statistical Bulletin, Bureau of Private Schools, Division of Planning and Research, Department of Education and other sources. In Education for National Development, p. 49.

COMPARISON OF PER STUDENT COS'.Ir

1973-1977

7973 1974

P. P. ·J. Metro Manila

1.1. Private Education 428.48 460.0f\ 1.2. University of the Philippines 2,267.83 1,810.42 1.3. Metro Manila-State Colleges and

Universities 638.()9 678.63

2. Non-Metro Manila 2.1. Privat<' Education 286.47 325.70 2.2. Non-Metro Manila-State Colleges

& Universities 831.74 979.54

Source: Sanyal, Bikas, et al. Higher Education and the labour Market in the Philippines, p. 120.

TABLE III-a

---~-----

1975 1976 1977

P. p P.

553.71 592.81 611.48 3,539.48 3,668.62 3,814.31

988.13 1,047.23 999.04

386.41 452.73 491.45

1,267.30 899.18 1,521.54

In the absence of adequate information required to estimate

a quality index, the commission's report used the relative cost

of education per student as indicator of the quality of

education, as shown in Tables III and III-a. Although this was a

crude index, it gave a fair picture of how Philippine education

was financed. An examination of the ability of students to

finance their education also explained the problem of financing

Philippine education. Student fees were the main source of income

especially in private institutions, and government funds did not

match the large enrollments. This was a stark contrast to

countries where the government or private sector gave a

substantial or significant financial contribution to finance

education (see Table IV).

The main source of financing an individual's education

according to the report was the family. Hence, the relation

between income and educational opportunities was significant.

Facts revealed that educational opportunities beyond the

secondary level were only opened to the top 2.6 percent of

families composed of professionals, landed and business classes.

There was therefore a wide gap between the ability of families to

pay and the cost of a good education. 21

21 Ibid. p. 51.

TABLE IV

Comparison of Educational Indicators for Selected Countries 22

----------------------------------------------------------------Indicator Philippines Korea Thailand Malaysia

----------------------------------------------------------------public education expen-diture per capita (in 6 11 7 32 u. s. dollars)

Percentage of GNP devoted to public education 2.5 (a,b) 2.9 3.0 6.4

percentage of government budget devoted to education 14.9 ( b) 17.9 18.7 20.9

Ratio of primary enroll-ment to relevant age group (in percent) 104 97 87 90

Ratio of secondary enrollment to relevant age group (in percent) 46 51 21 33

Ratio of tertiary enrollment to population (in percent) 1. 7 0.5 0.2 0.2

a. If it is assumed that spending per student is the same in private as in public education, the proportion of GNP going to all education would be 2.9 percent; this would most likely be an underestimate. One source suggests that this figure "approaches 4 percent"; 3. 5 percent is probably not far from the true value. See International Labour Office. Sharing in Development (Geneva: ILO, 1974), p. 305.

b. Department of Education and Culture (DEC) budget, plus estimated Pl30 million for school buildings from the Department of Public Works, as indicated by Budget Commission, Fiscal Year 1975 National Budget, p. 24.

Source: Figures for Philippines are estimates based on DEC data. Philippine financial statistics refer to 1973-74; enrollment statistics refer to 1970-71. Figures for other countries are from recent World Bank appraisal reports of education projects.

22Priorities and Prospects for Development (World Bank Country Report), p. 286.

In such conditions where educational opportunities were

limited by financial constraints, some relevant implications

reflected the kind of educational system in operation. First,

there were some students qualified to pursue higher education but

unable financially to do so. There was evidence of wastage,

failures and drop-outs, which suggested that there were students

admitted in higher education institutions because they could

afford it, but lacked the intellectual capacity. Secondly,

providing opportunities based on the capabilities of students to

contribute to productivity could be a good investment in higher

education and should be looked into by higher institutions as one

means of optimizing investments with possible productive

returns. 23

Major Recommendations2 4

In the stages of formulating recommendations, the commission

identified three levels of recommendations: (1) Policy

recommendations; (2) Program recommendations; and (3) Project

recommendations. The commission defined policy recommendations as

those that "concern the entire educational system and call for a

major reform or change in the system." In order to implement

these policy recommendations, legislation was required along with

cooperation of the different government agencies executing and

23 Ibid. I P• 52.

24Full text of the commission's major recommendations is found in Appendix D.

implementing the recommendations. 25

Program recommendations were "basically implementative

recommendations designed to help carry out the broad policies."

rt required legislation of a very specialized nature and their

impact concerned a more specific section of the educational

system. Implement:ations could be carried out through the

government agencies and specifically the education department.

Program recommendations were strategies of implementation. 26

Project recommendations were those "identified or suggested

by both policy and program recommendations," and were to be

implemented by specific expert groups. Each level of

recommendation was to be implemented for each aspect or area of

the educational system that was analyzed and tested. 27

On the basis of its findings, the commission came up with

an impressive array of cogent and far-reaching recommendations

especially for priority areas in the educational system that

needed immediate reform. Immediate implementation of such

recommendations were, however, contingent on the creation of

expert groups that were to conduct feasibility studies. Some

major commission recommendations were in the following areas:

New Educational Aims. The commission recommended that

educational aims should be translated into "achievable targets of

the contribution that education can make to national

25 Ibid. p. 23.

26 rbid., p. 24.

27rbid., pp. 24-25.

aevelopment." The aims must guide educational policy-makers in

all aspects of their decisions regarding the operation and

implementation of such policies. These aims were to be

specifically related to each program of a specific level of the

educational ladder in order to make them more operational and

meaningful in terms of national development goals of the country.

The establishment of a National Board of Education to formulate

and adopt educational policies and plans consistent with the

aims for national development was recommended. 28

New Educational Ladder. The commission's proposal for a new

educational ladder consisted of six years for the elementary

level, five years for the secondary level and four or more years

for higher education. This plan put one more year in the

educational ladder as opposed to the 6-4-4 plan that had been in

operation (see Chart IX).

General education provided for all citizens in the first

level of education was to consist of a six-year compulsory

elementary education. It stressed that this level would be the

basis for the formulation of trained manpower and would be a

terminal education that would be able to produce skilled or

trained manpower in line with the national emphasis on economic

development and progress. 2 9

28 This off ice Education pursuant September 1972.

replaced the former to Presidential Decree

Board No.

National dated 24

CHART IX

EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES, 1970

AGE I · I GRADE I I

.__1 ........ _...__..__1_0 ...__11 ........ _1_, .... I 113 I ,. ! 15 I 16 I ... 1-17--!!--'·-+1-'-9-+. _20_,l-21--!.'--22 ........ _2_3 _.__2_• ..._2S--!

1';'. ! 111 I 2ad ! lrC ; •tn : : ,.. • 1.nc1 • 3n:t : •tti ; 6tti :

-I~«- I t \...:..." Y Year Y YNr ! y.., ! Y•r ' , .. , 2 Yttar • Year :

.. ,-----~-EM-EN-,:-:.v-RY-----.1-t I "" ~: I ,·~ t--..._-lERT....._l_A_RY_... _ _,1--+---GRA-DUA--'II----f

I I I I I I I I I I

NAlURE I OF I

l'!W)(lAAMME I

CONTROl &

01\NERSHIP

I I I I I I

E11tl'llted EnroltnMit'70

A.LM:l.s7 C0•1PLnUY

PRIVA'Tl

~E'.:11 I~ { ~1 H1c,t1 School r--c-..,-....,-c-• _ __,

C By- Uw, ~em9'11try Educ:l'1tan include' Gnoe VII. however. only

implemented Gracie VII)

91i•.

·~· l'Ull.IC PR1V'9i.TE

Aca<rrruc

Acad9mic

Voation1I .__ ___ _.

Voc•11one1

PUil.iC PftlVATE

liber81 Art&

Low -----------------r·-----------------·· A.8. forogremme : Uw Pr"OPS

"j I I

l'Ul!LIC l'RIVA'II

Actu.111 Enrol~t "67- 68 3~.276

7.075,59'1

6.490.680

1.69::.850 l.U4.J!X;

732.86() 580.1.0C

PllJPOSED EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES

AGE .... I •_._........__,I I 7 j s I 9 j 10 j 11 I 12 I I 13 I 14 I 1~· I 1~ I t7 I I rn I 19 I 20 I 21 , 22 ! 23

I {.'\ (.;", 0 {;\ {";\ 17'\ ~ 1st : 2nd ! 3rtJ : .tth ~ St1t : • h1 : 2nd : 3rd : •1n • 5th • I

LANGUAGE

INSTfucn:

lYPE OF

l'll>GRAMME

I ~ ~ 3 0 0 ~ i Year : Year ! Year : 'fur ! Year J ! Yeer : 'rear : Year : Year! YN• ! 1

I PRE-SCHOCL 11 ~= ~ . SE~OND;RY • '~--~---~-----~IGH~EOU~~TION ___ J

._ __ _J

! FILIPINO I I I ~ i Undergraou11e Educa1"'" Graoua1e Ptogramme I r-----··- ··-·-' I FILIPINO I ti .--------------------, ·,. Prov11ion Vernacular ! I & ENGLISH ., g;;; II I

for use of ·~ . "'- En:!~~:c~s : I ~ ti~ I FILIPINO AND ENGLISH I f \lemacular Aux1h•rr : I

1 i!j ~ ~ I I

L--···-------·--; ~ e :'.! · I ~uz FOUR/FIVE YEAR

l'l!OGllAMME

._ __________ ..J

~::."': ! IPr~~"t:~, ~~~ GRADUATE l'llOGAAllME

CurTiculum :,• Voa:t1on1I z f 0 g 0 z Tec:llnical I

I ~:§ -olher I ::. u Post· Secondary I

THE COMPllEHENSIV[ C z ~ tnsliture I HIGH SCHOOL TO BE < :! ~ INSTITUTED IN ITIAll Y i II

IN A NETWCR; OF lil

I PUii.JC SECONDARY ... ~ I SCHO~ I I

I : I I I j I I : · · f L-..---t~-____J L-~----1-------------~

i---------------------: Source: Education & National Development.

: PRE-EMPlOYMENT TRAINING l L------~~~::_C:.~!115 ' New Panem5, Ne.- Directions. J970.

Secondary education was always considered the weakest link

in the school system. 30 The commission addressed this concern by

proposing that this second phase of general education for all

citizens be five years.

The first three years will be a single stream, which will be divided into two streams in the fourth and fifth years. The first of these two will offer vocational training, which will be either terminal at the end of the fifth year, or prepare the graduate for further training as a technician or technologist. The second stream will be academic, to prepare students for higher education.

This second level will be conducted in comprehensive high schools. There will be a nationwide network of such comprehensive schools. 3l

The establishment of special technical institutes beyond the

second level to offer training, retraining, and in-service

programs for the formation of skilled technicians was proposed.

Higher institutions would offer such programs for higher

technician/technological training. Agencies especially in the

industrial field would be tapped in order to insure the relevance

of training to actual requirements. Schools were urged to

discourage students to enroll in courses preparing for

overcrowded occupations and to encourage them instead to look

forward to those occupations where there was a definite lack of

trained manpower.32

30one reason for this was the inadequate financial support given to private education (most of the secondary schools in the country were privately owned and run}. It should be noted, however, that this concern does not rule out the existence of efficient secondary schools in places that were willing and able to underwrite the cost.

32carson, Story of Philippine Education, pp. 101-102.

The major recommendations for higher education emphasized a

strengthening of the whole program. It suggested a regular review

and coordination of procedures to develop higher education

programs. Other recommendations included the establishment of a

national accreditation scheme; a coherent system of public

universities with corresponding satellite colleges; national

college admissions tests; and grants-in-aid and other incentive

schemes to selected and important programs in private education.

Financing of Education. According to the commission the

primary responsibility of financing, not only elementary and

secondary education, but also public education, should rest on

the national government. It also recommended that the support and

financing public elementary and secondary education should be

assumed by the local governments. Local governments with

insufficient funds to support their local schools would be

supported by the national government.33

Re organization of Administration. For the ef feet i ve

implementation of educational reforms, it was recommended that

there should be changes in educational administration. The

Department of Education was to be renamed the Department of

Education and Cul tu re, and headed by a secretary of education

appointed by the President. New bureaus in the department were

suggested: (l) a Bureau of General Education to replace the

existing Bureau of Public Schools and Bureau of Vocational

Education, to coordinate and administer elementary and secondary

33 Ibid., p. 13.

education programs both public and private; and (2) a Bureau of

gigher Education would replace the Bureau of Private Schools,

which would administer only the private sector of higher

education. The reorganization, as suggested by the commission,

would also include the creation of regional and other bureaus in

the Department of Education and Cul tu re, such as: the National

Library, National Museum, Institute of National Language, and the

National Historical Institute (see Chart X).3 4

Language of Instruction. Bilingualism in Pilipino and

English was believed by the commission as a "desirable condition

in the contemporary world." Pilipino was recommended as the main

language of instruction at the elementary level, with the main

vernacular as the medium of instruction in the first two grades.

In the secondary and higher education levels, it was recommended

that Pilipino or English would be used as medium of instruction

whenever practicable.35

Implementation. In order to effectively implement these

changes, the commission recommended that extensive and detailed

program designs and project plans of operation be formulated by a

special expert implementation group. This group would be charged

with the task of laying the groundwork for the proper adoption of

implementation plans.

34 Ibid., 14-15.

35 Ibid., p. 16.

Regional Directors

I Bureau of

Public Schools

I Exercises control over &

suoervision of all public eiementary

Office of Planning

Services

& secorraary

Scnools

CHART X

Old Organizational Suucture of the OeJ:>anment of Educatioo and Culture

Secrerary of Education and

Culture

Under- Secretary

I A II Three Bureaus

I Regiona I Offices have

I Bureau of \locatiooal Education

I Exercises cootrol over &

supervision of all

voca11onal1 technical apr1c1Jltura1 scnools

01 all levels

NEW ORGANIZATIONAL smLJCTURE

Bureau of Elementary Education

M1mster

of Educatioo and Culture

UnderSecretary

Bureau of Secondary

School

Division of Educational

Planning

I Bureau of

Private Schools

I Exercises cootrol over &

supervision of all private schools.

elementary, secondary

and tert1 ary

Bureau of Higher

Education

10 11 12

Regional Directors have supervisioo and control of all levels

of education in the respective region

Source: Higher El:iucation and the labour Market in Philinpines, pp. 122 - 123.

A budget had already been worked out for the financial

requirements of the recommendations. The budget identified which

components would be financed by national funding and which

required external loans or grants. The commission also

recommended that the government be responsible for exploring and

soliciting other sources of funding for the implementation of

other programs/projects.36

~ecommendations for Priority Areas

Educational Planning: Development and Educational Aims. In

the commission's report Education for National Development: New

Patterns, New Directions, a study of the existing educational

objectives revealed that, in general, the historical and

philosophic context of such objectives were in "forms that

[needed] to be translated into a coherent set of operationally

workable objectives." The educational objectives in operation at

the time of the commission's survey were those formulated by the

Board of National Education in 1957. These objectives were stated

as follows:

1. To inculcate moral and spiritual values inspired by an abiding faith in God.

2. To develop an enlightened, patriotic, useful and upright citizenry in a democratic society.

3. To instill habits of industry and thrift, and to prepare individuals to contribute to the economic development and wise conservation of the nation's resources.

36 rbid., p. 17.

4. To maintain family solidarity, to community life, to perpetuate all desirable in or national heritage and to cause of world peace.

improve that is

serve the

~. To promote the sciences, arts and letters for enrichment of life ~ recognition of the dignity of the human person.

In the context of planning requirements, the commission

found that not only were the above objectives not stated in

operational terms but they were also not feasible for the

educational system alone to achieve. Hence, there needed to be a

translation of these objectives in operational terms geared

toward the nation's task of building up, i.e., toward

developmental goals envisioned in the New Society's program for

nation-building.

Planning also had always been a weakness of the educational

system. To support this statement, it was observed by the

commission that: (1) there was no clear definition in operational

terms as to the role of education in national development; ( 2)

there were no long-range goals that would set performance targets

for each operational component of the educational system; ( 3)

policy guidelines were needed that would define the proper

functions of each educational level or sector; (4) the nature of

the decision-process of both individuals and educational

ins ti tut ions that was based on free choice rather than guided

selection; and (5) there was a disproportionate magnitude of

37 rbid. I p. 57.

educational responsibility relative to the capacity of the

economy to support the corresponding requirements for educational

services. Almost always, educational plans were short ranged and

concerned a specific sector, such as private or public education.

The needed educational plans were those that should be

comprehensive in scope and span a longer time horizon.38

As stated previously, the state did not have a strong

participation in the manpower development responsibility of

education. This was primarily due to the constitutional and legal

commilnu:~nt to provide basic elementary education on the part of

the state. This commitment in effect exhausted the state's

educational budget for elementary education leaving secondary and

higher education -- the educational levels that are most relevant

to manpower considerations in national development

initiative of the private sector.39

to the

From such findings, the commission concluded that there was

a need for a more comprehensive development plan. The commission

gave some factors necessary to provide the basis for the

formulation of an educational plan for the Philippines. First,

national development goals should be restated. Basic to this is

the formulation of a national comprehensive development plan that

would be the authoritative source of statement of goals, that

would serve as the external criteria for evaluating the

educational system's performance. The educational system in turn

38 rb1"d., p 58 59 P· - .

39 Ibid.

must have its own set of aims that should be consistent with

these development goals. Once the goals and aims be defined and

stated in more operational terms, it would make it easier to set

performance targets and to develop strategies to attain them. 40

Thirdly, an efficient statistical and research service to

generate an adequate, reliable and timely baseline data for

planning purposes was needed. This was one factor most lacking in

the educational system that was essential in developing policies

and implementing plans. The country's diverse population

necessitated a more efficient research and statistical service. 41

The commission recommended the following restatement of

developmental goals and educational aims:

National Development Goals. To further the aims of the Constitution for the development of the Philippines as a nation, and within the context of a free and democratic society, the national development goals of the Philippines are: a. To achieve and maintain an accelerating rate of

economic development and social progress; b. To assure the maximum participation of all the people

in the attainment and enjoyment of the benefits of such growth; and

c. To strengthen national consciousness and promote desirable cultural values in a changing world.

National Educational Aims. Given the above development goals, the education system, as a major contributor towards their attainment, should: a. Provide for a broad general education that will assist

each individual, in the peculiar ecology of his own society, to (1) attain his potential as a human being; (2) enhance the range and quality of individual and group participation in the basic functions of society, and ( 3) acquire the essential educational foundation for his development into a productive and versatile citizen.

40 rbid •I P• 60 •

41 rbid.

b. Train the nation's manpower in the middle-level skills required for national development.

c. Develop the high-level professions that will provide leadership for the nation, advance knowledge through research, and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of human life.

d. Respond effectively to changing needs and conditions of the nation ~9rough a system of educational planning and evaluation.

Elementary and Secondary Education. Universal elementary

education for the Filipinos is a constitutional right. Although

its provision remains debatable, the practical concerns which

faced the commission during its survey was to analyze the

internal efficiency of the elementary education system. The

system was inefficient as diagnosed from symptoms which the

commission found, such as

the high drop-out rate before literacy is achieved. At Grade IV, literary achieved is 50% in the vernacular (successively lower for Pilipino and for English), and at Grade VI, 75% in Pilipino. A successively lower literacy rate must be achieved at grades below Grade Iv. 43

If the population was literate, acceptance to changes in

environment would less be a problem. In one such instance, when

innovations in agricultural techniques were introduced, i.e.

improvement in rice culture, there could have been a better

response to the innovation had the population been more or highly

literate. The more educated one was, the higher the chances of

increasing one's employment alternatives. More and more agencies

and firms demanded a higher educational attainment of applicants,

even for road maintenance laborers commonly known as camineros.

42 Ibid., pp. 62-64.

43 Ibid., p. 68.

Secondary education, the next level assigned to be

responsible for "continuing the unifying functions of elementary

education by providing general education" was always labelled the

weakest link in the educational ladder. This was so, because it

was given multiple burdens, such as improving general education,

providing terminal education through vocational training and

preparation for college.44

The performance of secondary education was noteworthy

primarily as a college preparatory program. Even with the

conception of the 2-2 plan which supposedly should provide two

year academic and two-year vocational training to the student,

secondary education still remained a college preparatory program.

This was mainly due to the lack of resources to fund secondary

education and especially the low regard for vocational training.

Hence the 2-2 plan, originally planned as a terminal education

was only partially attained.

Some significant policy recommendations were made for

reforms in secondary education. The commission proposed for an

eleven-year system of education that would consist of six years

of compulsory elementary education, followed by five years of

secondary education. The first six years of elementary education

should provide the necessary general education basic for personal

development and modern living in an expanding society. A five

year secondary level, according to the commission, would be able

to provide an enrichment of elementary education and an adequate

44 rbid., p. 10.

preparation for further education.

A nationwide network of comprehensive secondary schools was

suggested to offer a core program in the first three years as

basis for the subsequent academic and vocational/technical

courses that would be offered in the fourth and fifth years.

Further recommendations included emphasis on a strong guidance

and counselling services be developed and established in all high

schools. 45

Vocational/Technical Education. The commission's concern for

vocational/technical situation of the country was reflected in

their statement that, "the nation's need for vocational/technical

skills has not been matched by the effort in vocational/technical

training." 46 Generally, the system's orientation was for the

lower and higher educational levels to produce in effect, a

literate population and a large professional class. Little effort

had been exerted for vocational/technical training. Vocational

schools had yet to prove their effectiveness in supplying the

precise skills needed for the economy. 47

A key recommendation was that high priority for vocational

and technical education be given to: planning; establishment of

special technical institutes within the national polytechnic

system; vocational/technical education; and provision of training

45rbid., pp. 78-79.

46 rbid., p. 83.

47 Economic Monitor, "Review for 1967: Chapter v. Education, Manila," in Carson, Story of Philippine Education, p. 68.

programs to meet current and projected requirements for skilled

technicians. This called for revisions in the curriculum of

secondary and higher education, in relation to vocational

training or terminal education. 48

Higher Education. Higher education in the Philippines is

referred to "formal and institutionalized group-study which comes

after secondary schooling and require a definite body of high

school units for admission as a candidate for academic

credit. 11 Terms such as "university, 11 "college" or "collegiate"

and "post secondary," also mean higher education. 49 Trends and

patterns in Philippine higher education were based upon four

basic factors namely: (1) educated manpower, (2) the private

sector of higher education, (3) state higher educational

institutions, and (4) geographic concentration of educational

institutions.

University or college education in the Philippines was

considered an important factor for social mobility. Pressure

therefore for students to have a college/university education had

been building up contributing to increased enrollments, and

especially enhanced by an open-entry policy, but regulated to

some extent by the ability of parents to pay fees. There was much

greater output of graduates than market demands resulting to what

had been called the "educated unemployed." One reason for this

was that students were not properly counselled in regard to the

48 rbid., pp. 88-99.

49carson, Introduction to Philippine Education, p. 83.

educational and vocational choices which they had to make. Any

normal student would like to go into a field where he/she would

like to be, regardless of individual interests and capabilities.

The obvious result would be a shortage of technicians and well-

trained professionals.

One other pattern of higher education was that the greatest

bulk of ownership of higher education ins ti tut ions was in the

hands of the private sector. These private-run institutions were

categorized as either church-related, proprietary and

foundations. Government influence was only exercised through the

Bureau of Private Schools which only acted as a "licensing

authority to grant degrees, establish schools, and institute

programs," and without the adequate staffing and facilities

necessary to enforce its regulations among numerous private

institutions. 50 , 51

Another factor that affected the pattern of higher

education was the undue concentration of higher education

enrollment in Greater Manila with the consequence of an

overcrowding of institutions and unequal utilization of

facilities and resources. Consequently, regional institutions

developed slowly. This then, aggravated the regional "brain-

50Although there are two sectors, public and private, about 85 percent of collegiate students are in private institutions of higher learning as stated in Epifania R. Castro Resposo, The Role 2! Universities in the Developing Philippines {New York: Asia Publishing House, Inc., 1971), p. 31.

51 commission Report, Education for National Development, pp. 97-98.

arain" situation in the country -- where rural students wanted to

study in the big cities because they thought that there were

better and bigger opportunities there.

The areas for reform recommended by the commission for

higher education were in the fields of instruction, professional

training and research through reorganization, accreditation,

coordination and adequate funding. These reforms were aimed at

strengthening and developing higher education in these fields. A

significant reform recommended was the reorganization of the

system in order to classify private institutions into some form

of categorization by means of accreditation. A Federation of

Accrediting Association (FAA) to coordinate activities and make

suggestions for policy recommendations regarding private higher

educational institutions would be established for this purpose.

Other recommendations included the establishment of a system

of grants-in-aid to accredited associations; provision that the

Bureau of Higher Education would supervise institutions that

failed to be accredited; establishment of a national admissions

policy to govern entrance to higher education institutions; and a

system of scholarship, loans and other forms of assistance to

students to be established for equal access to educational

opportunities for all students, and to make the educational

system more responsive to national manpower requirements.5 2

Language of Instruction. The controversy on the use of

English or Filipino as medium of instruction had been an

52 rbid., pp. 110-118.

overriding issue confronting educational policy makers and the

legislature. It seemed that the issue was always more political

rather than educational; hence, the commission could not be

decisive nor take a stand on the issue because the decision would

eventually be decided in the Constitutional Convention of 1971.

The issue as to which level of education should Filipino or

English be used as medium of instruction was presented to the

convention by the commission. It first recommended that Filipino

be the main language of instruction at the elementary level with

the vernacular language to be used in the first two grades. Then,

at the secondary and higher levels, Filipino and English would be

used as languages of instruction. 53

Educational Financial Administration and Logistics. The

commission suggested the need for major changes in the national

government's involvement in educational investments. With the

fast rate of enrollment increase, it was necessary to increase

educational expenditures if quality education had to be provided.

Considering development requirements and the increasing emphasis

on the quality of educational output, i.e., human capital forma

tion, it was anticipated that government financing had to be

increased. In such case, there needed to be a restructuring of

the financial administration of the government in general and of

the educational system in particular to be able to meet the

53 Ibid., pp. 119-121.

increasing educational expenditures.5 4

There were some relevant patterns and features of the

financial administration of the educational system found by the

commission. First, government had a constitutional and legal

commitment to provide universal primary education for its

citizens. A major portion of government resources was therefore

tied up to elementary education. The commitment of government

resources for public schools accounts for more than three fourths

of the total population. Still, much more resources had to be

allocal~d to meet the increasing school enrollment.

Secondly, higher education financing relied mostly on

student fees as primary source. This reliance on student fees had

encouraged institutions to open programs that operated at a low-

cost budget. In effect, this pattern was creating an imbalance in

the admission and enrollment of students in different areas. More

students were flocking to the so called "low-cost" programs such

as teacher education, commerce and business, and liberal arts in

that order. High investment programs such as medicine and

engineering suffered low enrollments.

Thirdly, in essence, there was a poor quality of education,

leading to uneven educational standards, and inequalities of

educational opportunity. Aid from the government especially for

higher education, could not be expected yet. A further implica-

54 A recommendation made by E. Resposo in her book is amending some provisions of the tax system in order to encourage ~a~ge endowments from philanthropists. (See Resposo, Role of -!l!Yersities in Developing Philippines, p. 124.

tion of this was that the government could not be adequately

assertive in influencing the direction of higher education,

except for regulating functions. One feature that showed a more

significant role of the government in higher education was in the

maintenance and support of state colleges and universities. These

institutions operated under charters and were financed through

individual allotments from the general appropriation of the

national budget. 55

Based on these financing patterns, the commission projected

that the future direction of educational financing and investment

would necessitate the adoption of reforms in three directions:

shifts in financing responsibility, development of new revenue

sources, and improved operational administration of financial

functions. Hence, shifting the responsibility of financing public

elementary and secondary education from national to local

governments meant more support and concentration on higher

education to produce better and more skilled manpower for

development needs. Local governments therefore would have to be

more creative to find other sources of income aside from real

property taxes. New and additional sources of funds for educa

tional programs should be developed. Improvement of the tax

system would in effect generate more income for education

expenditures and community development projects. 56

55 rbid., pp. 125-134. Some examples of this kind of staterun institutions are the University of the Philippines, Central Luzon Agricultural College, Mindanao State University, etc.

56Education for National Development,p. 134.

project Proposals --Part III of the report Education for National Development:

New Patterns, New Directions, included some project proposals

identified by the commission for top priority consideration in

the light of its policy and program recommendations. The proce-

aure involved in this phase of the survey was first, to identify

which were the top priority projects, briefly describe each,

highlighting primarily the priority needs for the project and

then, indicate on a tentative basis the possible requirements for

project implementation. Secondly, after the project identifica

tion, detailed feasibility studies were undertaken. The commis-

sion then strongly recommended that expert groups be formed to

undertake such studies. It presented nineteen project proposals,

which included the following:

A. Elementary and Secondary Education 1. Establishment of new comprehensive high schools. 2. Curriculum Development for secondary schools. 3. The production of basic reading primers and

associated materials in each of the vernacular languages for use in Grades I and II to be undertaken immediately.

B. Higher 4 .

Education The establishment of an information service that would provide students with adequate and reliable information on: (a) school offerings and possible measures of quality of these offerings; and (b) expected employment opportunities and income potentials corresponding to educational programs. An investigation to be conducted on the internal efficiency and effectiveness of educational programs in relation to human resource requirements for social and economic development on such aspects as:

a. size and distribution of the higher education population.

b. curriculum reform c. redistribution of programs in the

educational ladder d. more efficient utilization of resources

through inter-institutional programs and the reorganization of the state colleges and universities.

6. The establishment of a study group to examine the formation and development of consortia.

7. Review of existing entrance policies of teacher training institutions with aim of relating quality entrants to manpower and accreditation requirements.

8. The undertaking of a feasibility study on the open university.

c. Vocational/Technical Education 9. Establishment of three special technical insti

tutes. 10. The establishment of a network of special pre

employment training and guidance centers for graduates of technical institutes and other postsecondary schools. Technical training for outof-school youth will also be provided in such centers.

D. Educational Administration and Finance 11. Establishment of an office of planning and

research. 12. Development of administrative techniques of decen

tralization. 13. Development of programs for the improvement of

management and financial planning for all schools. 14. A study to develop a system of scholarship, loans

and other forms of assistance to qualified and needy students.

15. A study to be undertaken on a national system of compensation for academic staff in both government and non-government institutions to be established by the National Board of Education in accordance with standards set by the Department of Education and Culture.

E. Expert Educational Group 15. Creation of an expert educational staff or group.

A further provision was that unless the president accepted the main policy guidelines recommended, an expert educational group be established to develop detailed program and prg~ects essential to the development of these policies.

57Ibid., pp. 179-207.

With the task of formulating a set of policy and program

recommendations as bases for the project proposals accomplished,

the commission strongly endorsed the translation of these

recommendations into project feasibility studies and programs of

implementation, and most of all, to lay the groundwork for the

adoption of a comprehensive educational plan. To undertake this

task, the commission recommended that an office or group staffed

with experts be created to succeed and follow through the work of

the Presidential Commission. It was then the task of the educa

tional system in particular to take up the challenge.

CHAPTER IV

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM RESPONDS TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION

On 21 September 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued

proclamation No. 1081 establishing Martial Law in the country,

not only "to save the Republic," but also to build a ti New

society." 1

The New Society envisioned by the President was not really a

new society, notwithstanding the fact that it operated under a

new cons ti tut ion. 2 Marcos' over all plan as mapped out in his

decrees and executive orders and also gleaned from media reports

at that time, was to redress the existing inequities in

Philippine society, such as, the social ills brought about by the

ineffective implementation of the land reform program of the

government, unequal educational opportunities and regional

disparities in education. With the imposition of martial law,

the government set out to introduce reforms in social, economic

and political institutions and build up a new social order. 3 This

1F. E. Marcos, Notes on the New Society of the Philippines (Manila: Marcos Foundation, Inc, 1971).

2under Martial Law, a new constitution in 1972 was adopted changing the presidential form of government to a parliamentary form.

3The "new social order" of Marcos was to be established by controlling such established sources of opposition like the mass media, legislature, student activism, etc.

massive campaign for reforms was summed up in the acronym PLEDGES

which stood for: peace and order, land reform, economic reforms,

development of moral values, government reforms, educational

reforms and social services.

Shortly after the declaration of Martial Law on 22 September

1972, the Department of Education and Culture issued a department

order embodying a program of reform intended to make education

contribute more substantially to the immediate national effort at

reforming society and at meeting current urgencies of the

country. 4 The program of reform of the educational system called

for a redefinition of educational aims and goals based on the

restated national development goals by the commission. The

reforms included curricular redirection, revisions in teaching

methodology and techniques as well as reforms in educational

structure, organization and administration.

Prior to the seventies and martial law regime, the country

boasted of certain factors that apparently indicated favorable

educational accomplishments such as the relatively huge public

expenditures in education and a very high participation rate in

education. However, the reality was that education was not

essentially contributing to national requirements for

development, nor was it adequately meeting public expectations.5

4Bienvenido B. Manuel, Juanita s. Guerrero and Minda c. Sutaria, eds. New Thrusts in Philippine Education (Manila: Current Events Digest, 9; revised ed., Manila, Philippines: Herald Publications, Inc. 1974), p. 3.

5Ministry of Education and Cul tu re, Report on Educational ~elopment in the Seventies 1970-1979 (Manila: MEC), p. 1.

Education in the Philippines had been criticized for its lack of

relevance and its ineffectiveness. Considering the economic

development goals of the country, the educational system was not

production-oriented. The schools did not prepare the students

adequately for further education; its offerings were insufficient

for terminal education. It did not even equip the students with

essential skills for meeting actual life situations. As admitted

by Juan Manuel, former Minister of Education and Culture,

education was, in effect, only a preparation for more education.

The program he says, is specified as

a means of integrating education and life. The content of all subject areas at all levels shall be related to the conditions of the times, and their implications in or daily lives; to the actual needs of the people, and the local and national problems facing the country, and that the curriculum be viewed not in terms of facts or subject matter to be mastered but in terms of learnine to be acquired and applied in meeting everyday situations.

Education therefore had to be relevant to the needs and aims

of the New Society. Consequently, the school curricula, both in

content and methods of teaching, had to be reoriented and redi-

rected to such needs. There was especially a felt need to

redirect the curricula toward a greater recognition of the value

Of hard work. The whole point was to produce well informed and

skilled manpower in order to help in accelerating the nation's

socio-economic growth. Education had to be the main vehicle for

this production-oriented objective of the New Society.

6Juan L. Manuel, Education, 11 in Manuel, ~cation, pp. 4-5.

"At the et al.,

Crossroads of New Thrusts in

Philippine Philippine

The Educational Development Decree of 1972 (P.D. No. 6-A).7

Significantly then, the Philippines had within its grasp an

unprecedented opportunity for massive reform in all aspects of

society. Presidential orders and decrees had to be executed or

implemented because they were laws of the land. 8 For the

educational system, the way was paved for the implementation of

such needed reforms.

The general direction of these reforms had been outlined in

the recommendations of the Presidential Commission to Survey

Philippine Education in its report Education for National

Development in 1970. This report was the basis of Presidential

Decree No. 6-A, otherwise known as the Educational Development

Decree of 1972 (see appendix E). P.D. 6-A was undoubtedly the

most significant document on education to come out since the

establishment of the contemporary national educational system. 9

It provided the legal basis for the initial implementing of

projects, since it substantially incorporated the major proposals

and recommendations of the commission for reforms and

improvement of the system. A key statement of official policies

7see appendix E for the full text of Presidential Decree.

8Article XVII (Transitory Provisions) Sec. 2, of the 1973 Constitution states that, "All promulgation, orders, decrees, ~nstructions, and acts promulgated, issued, or done by the incumbent President (Marcos] shall be part of the law of the land • • · remain valid, legal, binding •.. , " in Jose M. Aruego and ~loria Aruego-Torres, The New Philippine Constitution Explained

1980 revised ed. (Manila, Philippines: University Book Supply, nc • 19 8 O ) , p . 5o1.

T" 9Juan L. Manuel, "Philippine Education in the 80s," Fookien

~-!!!.es Philippines Yearbook 1977, p. 304.

can be found in the Declaration of Policy of P.O. 6-A: "The

rationale is that improved education will not only impart

desirable attitudes, knowledge and skills that will improve labor

productivity, but it will also have salutary effects on welfare

in such areas as health and nutrition and family planning." The

socio-economic and political life of the Filipinos will also be

enhanced. In short, education was seen as a vehicle for reforming

society and ultimately, achieving national development. 10

In whatever reforms that were to be made there was a need to

make it correspond to the goals of the New Society and its

development goals. This meant initially that the aims and goals

of education had to be redefined to make education contribute to

national development efforts. The aims of education would be the

basis on which the fundamental changes and curriculum revisions

were to be made in order to make instruction useful and

beneficial to the people. As the commission had stated in its

report Education for National Development, "the education system,

pari passu, must then undergo a change in its goals, structure,

con tent and methods to become relevant to the changing

society. 11 1 1

The assessment of the educational system made by the

commission in 1969 pointed out to a number of substantive

lOibid.

11Education for National Development, in Narciso Albarracin, "Content of the Curriculum for the New Society", in Manuel, et al, New Thrusts in Philippine Education, p. 10.

imperfections and imbalances in the system. 12 It was evident that

educational planning had not been the area of strength of

Philippine education as shown by (1) the lack of specific goals

for the education system to achieve -- the goals already defined

were for the whole social system and hence was impossible for the

education system to achieve alone; (2) the inconsistency of

educational goals with development priori ties; ( 3) the services

provided by education did not effectively respond to manpower

requirements; (4) the overcrowding of educational facilities and

services in a few centers in the country and an acute lack in

many areas; and (5) the lack of a systematic planning and

evaluation mechanism.

Thus, Presidential Decree No. 6-A defined the objectives of

the educational system in the context of the national development

goals of the New Society. To attain these objectives, a Ten-Year

Educational Development Program ( 1973-1982) was formulated and

launched by the Department of Education and Culture. 1 3 This ten-

year program was directed toward the improvement of the quality

of education in the country. Emphasis of the program was on:

improving curricular programs and quality of instruction;

upgrading academic standards by selective admission,

accreditation process and guidance and counselling program;

democratization of educational opportunities by government grants

12Ministry of Education and Cul tu re, (Philippines), Report 2E Educational Development in the Seventies (1974), pp. 2-3.

13Arthur L. Carson, The Story of Philippine Education (Quezon City: New Day Publishers 1978), p. 23.

and loans to institutions and scholarships to deserving students;

and expansion of existing programs. 14 Curricular changes however,

were to be introduced at a conservative rate taking into note

that massive or total changes in the curriculum could not be made

overnight and that this could not be done without serious

dislocations in certain aspects of the system, or of related

areas of social activity. Even teaching innovations had to be

taken at a slow pace.

Following are the redefined educational aims and objectives

provided for under P.D. 6-A, which were based on the commission's

recommendations.

Aims of Education

The commission reported that the country did not have any

development goals even at the time the aims of education were

being formulated by the Board of National Education in 1957. The

educational objectives set forth by the Board were "societal

rather than educational tasks. 1115 Thus, in the absence of such

goals, the development role of education was not defined making

it an impossible task for the education sector to respond to the

nation's development goals. The commission therefore,recommended

the restatement of developmental goals and educational aims,

14carson, Story of Philippine Education, p. 24.

15Bikas C. Sanyal, Waldo S Perfecto and Adriano A. Arcelo, !!lgher Education and the Labour Market in the Philippines (Paris: UNESCO; New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Ltd. 1981), p. 3; also in ~ucation for National Development, p. 61.

which were made official by P.D. 6-A. 16 This decree authorized

the undertaking of educational development projects and provided

guidelines and measures for their implementation and financing.

section 2, of the decree, particularly ensured the maximum

contribution of the educational system to the attainment of the

nation's development goals, which are: (1) achieving and

maintaining an accelerating rate of economic development and

social progress; ( 2) assuring the maximum participation of all

the people in the attainment and enjoyment of the benefits of

such growth; and ( 3) strengthening national consciousness and

promoting desirable cultural values in a changing world.17

Another basis that guided the restatement of the educational

aims was the New Labor Code (Presidential Decree 442), which

sought among other objectives to maintain through manpower

development and employment promotion, a national work force

capable of meeting the requirements of national development • 18

Also, the country's Four-Year Development Plan for fiscal years

1974-1977 included programs of manpower and educational reforms

which were mainly geared toward developing the needed skills for

projected future needs of the economy. The plan stressed the

l6"P.D. 6-A," proclaimed by President Marcos 1972, the "Educational Development Decree of "Education Decree of 1972," refer to one and the full text of the decree is found in appendix D.

on 29 September 197 2," or the

same thing. The

1 7Education for National Development, pp. 62-64.

18Manila, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs, Combining Education and Work ~er iences in Asia and Oceania, "Philippines" (Bangkok: UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and Oceania, 1978), p. 2.

need for developing human resources for the promotion of economic

development and social progress because it was "in this manner

that the people [would] be better equipped for gainful employment

as well as be able to share in the fruits of economic

advancement. 19

Thus, in order to attain the national development goals the

educational system had to respond in several ways. First, it had

to provide for a broad general education that would assist each

individual in the peculiar ecology of his/her own society, to (1)

attain his/her potential as a human being; (2) enhance the range

and quality of individual and group participation in the basic

functions of society, and (3) acquire the essential educational

foundation for development into a productive and versatile

citizen. Secondly, it had to train the nation's manpower in the

middle level skills required for national development. Next, it

needed to develop the high level professions that would provide

leadership for the nation, advance knowledge through research,

and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of human life.

Finally, it had to respond effectively to changing needs and

conditions of the nation through a system of educational planning

and evaluation.

Provisions of the constitution of 1973 defined some of the

general operational policies by which the government could

fulfill its duty and responsibility for providing its citizens

19Republic of the Philippines, Four-year Development Plan, !t 19 7 4 -19 7 7 ( Mani la , 19 7 3 ) , p . 2 2 , in Ibid •

with a free general education. It was also the basis from which

the education sector derived its policies and guidelines for

national development. First, all educational institutions were to

be under the supervision of and subject to regulation by the

state. In turn the state was to establish and maintain a

complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to

the goals of national development. 20 Secondly, the study of the

constitution was to be part of the curricula in all schools. All

educational institutions were aimed at inculcating love of

country, teaching the duties of citizenship, and developing moral

character, personal discipline and scientific, technological and

vocational efficiency. Next, the state was to maintain a system

of free public elementary education and, in areas where finances

permitted, establish and maintain a system of free public

education at least up to the secondary level. Also, at the option

expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, and without

cost to them and the government, religion was to be taught to

their children or wards in public elementary and high schools as

may be provided by law. Finally, the state was to provide

citizenship and vocational training to adult citizens and out-of

school youth, and create and maintain scholarships for poor and

deserving students. 21

20Article XV Section 8, 1 of 1973 Constitution.

21Article XV Sect. 8, 1-8 of the 1973 Constitution.

~chieving the Goals

To attain the goals of the New Society in nation-building,

the government pledged to initiate massive reforms in all aspects

of Philippine society. These social, economic and educational

reforms were carried out under the umbrella of the martial law

government. General orders and decrees were issued by the

President (Marcos} to carry out the program of the new government

in accordance with the spirit and aims of Presidential Decree No.

1081 -- the decree placing the whole Philippines under martial

la11. 22

The structure and function of the different government

offices were reorganized with the implementation of Presidential

Decree No. 1. Thus, the Department of Education underwent a

number of changes. First, its name was changed to the Department

of Education and Culture (DEC}, in order to stress its major role

in the economic and cultural development of the country. Some

off ices were abolished; some created; and functions were

transferred from one off ice to another. The main goal of these

changes was to make the newly organized DEC responsible for

developing and implementing programs of education and culture

based on the general objectives and policies formulated by the

National Board of Education. With the adoption of the Integrated

Plan of the Department of Education and Cul tu re, the basic

Policies on education in the New Society were proclaimed. The

22Herman C. Gregorio and Cornelia M. Gregorio, l2.._ Education in Philippine Setting (Quezon City, Garcia Publishing Company, 1976}, p. 56.

Introduction Philippines:

fundamental aims of the Integrated Plan were to provide

educational opportunities to allow the citizens to participate

actively in civic affairs and to develop skilled manpower.

To facilitate the administration of the school system, the

country was at first, divided into eleven geographic regions

under the direct control and supervision of a Regional Director,

and an Assistant Director. Both offices were filled by

presiJential appointees through the recommendation of the

secretary of the DEc.23

The Department of Education and Culture officials and

military authorities started to implement the presidential

decrees and orders as soon as schools were authorized to resume

classes in the latter part of September 1972, when the martial

law was declared. School heads were authorized to expel, dismiss

or suspend indefinitely, any faculty members, employees or

students who, after proper investigation were found to have been

engaged in subversive or illegal activities. There were strict

orders to comply with requirements and standard operating

procedures defined in the presidential decrees and orders. School

heads also, were subject or liable to legal action if they failed

to comply with these orders and decrees. 24

23The eleven regions have been enumerated in Chapter II. There are now thirteen regions, with Metro Manila as a separate region -- the National Central Region.

24 The term subversive at that time, referred to student activities that were anti-government, such as student demonstrations and rallies denouncing the martial law government Under Marcos. When schools opened days later after martial law \.las declared on 22 September 1972, student organizations and

P. D. 6-A (Section 2) called for the improvement of the

curricula for all levels; upgrading of academic standards through

accreditation schemes, admission testing and guidance counseling;

democratizing access to educational opportunities; the

restructuring of higher education to become more responsive to

the national development needs; an expansion of the existing

programs and establishment of new ones designed to train middle-

level technical and cultural manpower; and to institute reforms

in the educational financial system to facilitate the shift of

funding responsibility for elementary and secondary education

from the national to the local government.

For the effective implementation of the aforementioned plan

of action, education officials tried to tailor the different

aspects of the curriculum toward national development goals. This

program of reforms in education called for curricular redirection

and revisions.

Aside from the Department of Education and Culture (DEC),

other government agencies were created and charged with the task

of pursuing a well-ordered program of economic development. The

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) was organized to

facilitate the accomplishment of the economic development of the

country. The National Board of Education (NBE), which was

formerly the Board of National Education, was reorganized under

activities were permitted to continue or be organized, but with special permission from the Philippine military (Philippine Constabulary). There were requirements, under standard operating Procedures, for schools to follow, such as the using of I .D.s When entering school compounds or campuses.

p.D. 1, dated 24 September 1972, and .~trengthened as the ultimate

authority in a programmed development of education. It was

responsible for the task of formulating educational objectives

and policies consistent with the development goals and aims and

providing policy guidelines in the administration and

implementation of such program of reform. 25

In order to facilitate the attainment of the objectives of

the Educational Decree (P.D. 6-A), an Education Special Committee

was created. It was composed of the Secretary of Education and

Culture, Secretary of Finance, and the Commissioner of the

Budget. Its functions were to approve and evaluate specific

projects endorsed by the National Board of Education, and

administer the Educational Institutions Development Fund.

To discharge its functions, the NBE was assisted by the

Planning Service in the DEC. Agencies or off ices for project

implementation, such as the Educational Development Projects

Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), were organized or created. 26

The latter was established under the off ice of the Secretary of

Education and Culture and staffed by a director and technical

staff, to supervise and implement foreign-assisted development

projects in addition to other development projects that were

assigned to it by the Secretary of Education and Culture. 27

2 6The creation of the EDPITAF was also pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 6, dated 29 September 1972.

27Introduction to Education, p. 30.

The Role of the Schools in Accomplishing the Education Aims

Originally, the major concern for instituting reforms in the

Philippines was to improve the socioeconomic lives of the

Filipinos. The idea of a New Society, was seen as a developmental

movement. 28 Many at first, accepted it in good faith. The

Filipinos believed that changes were imperative in order to

attain national development and progress. Besides, the original

policies mapped out to attain the New Society goals were a

"convincing" means to achieve such goals. Reforms were therefore

inevitable, but the manner or method to bring about such changes

was not clearly defined. A clear understanding and profound

appreciation of the legitimate goals of the New Society were

requisite to since re personal commitment and meaning fu 1

involvement in pursuing them. It was also believed that the

education sector was a significant area and agent of change.

Indeed, education had always been a subject of criticism

especially during pre-martial law times. Criticisms were always

centered on the curriculum which was considered irrelevant and

which could not solve the many and ever-increasing societal

problems. 29

28Benjamin Navarro Muego, "The 'New Society' Philippines: A Case Study of a Developmental Regime" dissertation, Southern Illinois University, 1975).

of (Ph.

the D.

29our ing the martial law regime, one would be considered '.'undesirable" if questions were raised pertaining to orders issued. There was a conscious atmosphere and perceived feeling of the "accepting-or- else" kind.

Department Order No. 6, s. 1973 was issued by Secretary of

Education and Culture, Juan Manuel, to implement the needed

reforms in the education sector. The order underscored the

central role that the school was to play in fulfilling the goals

of the New Society. The schools were expected to strive to

maximize their contributions for the development of the New

Society. Some educational innovations were emphasized by this

order such as: the reexamination and redirection of the curricula

to make it more supportive of the New Society's goals; upgrading

and revising teaching methodology to make it more productive of

results; and restructuring the administrative organization and

management to meet the demands and standards of the New

Society. 30

Several elementary and secondary schools were to lead in the

implementation of educational reforms through the pupils and

students. This was due to the fact that the elementary pupils and

secondary students constituted the larger portion of the school

population. The teachers acted as the agents of the system to

carry out the orders and make use of the students to propagate

and complement the essence and substance of the decrees.

In the program of educational reform, it was specified that,

"as a means of integrating education and life, the content of all

subject areas at all levels shall be related to the conditions of

the times, and their implications in our daily lives; to the

30sutar ia, "Curricular Imperatives of the New Society," in Manuel, et. al, New Thrusts in Philippine Education, p. 32.

actual needs of the people, and the local and national problems

facing the country." It was also stated that the curriculum was

to be viewed in terms of its interpretation and application to

meet everyday life situations. 31 This directive did not involve

any drastic change in the curriculum. Instead, gradual

modifications in the educational system were introduced. One

aspect of curricular change was giving added emphasis to work

activities in all levels, hence the introduction of the Youth

Civic Action Program (YCAP), where the youth from all levels were

made to be more active in school and community projects. 32 In the

public schools, it was required that at least one period a week

in all subjects be directed to actual work activity. The purpose

was two-fold: to develop the necessary basic skills and

understandings to realize some actual earning from the activity;

and to promote the desired values specifically in the matter of

correcting the notion that gives status to white collar jobs and

denigrates manual activity. Basically then, the schools were

required to implement the orders that were issued through

channels, i.e., from the department office down to the district

levels for both public and private schools. The interpretation of

this work activity in the schools took different forms. Some

31Manuel, "Crossroads," in Ibid., pp. 4-5.

32netailed discussion of the activities under the YCAP Program will be found in the following chapter.

schools hardly implemented them because they were impractical or

because the school lacked the proper setting.33

School personnel and teachers had to undergo various

seminars and conferences in order to know what and how to

implement these programs. The Department of Education especially,

had to organize several "Task Forces" for various programs, such

as textbook preparation, curriculum revision, etc. Other

activities sponsored and introduced by the department will be

discussed in a later chapter.

Education and the 1973 Constitution

Education sector had to make changes and innovations in the

school curriculum to correspond to the changes in the goals of

the New Society and the aims of education; and to make instruc-

tion useful and beneficial to the people. As the country was

engaged in the building of a new society and in "relevantizing"

education, the curriculum had to give vigor and effectiveness to

those efforts, such as integrating subjects that were also

considered problems of the society. 34

33 one example is the Green Revolution program to be implemented in all schools. There was a requirement to plant ornamental trees, fruit trees, vegetables, etc. in one's backyard or in the school grounds. However, some homes or schools had concrete yards, or no space at all. Students then, were told to plant vegetables in flower pots, or plant trees in somebody else's farm -- provided that the student could show evidence that he/she had done the requirement.

34Narciso Albarracin, "Content of the Curriculum for the New Society," In Juan L. Manuel et al, New Thrusts in Philippine Education (Manila: Herald Publications Inc. 1974), p. 10.

One basic consideration in the determination of the content

of the curriculum was the 1973 constitution, because it had a

number of provisions which strongly implied a particular

curricula content for education in the New Society. These

provisions are found in parts, of Articles II, V, XV, and XVII

listed below.

ART. II. - Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Sec. 4. The State shall strengthen the family as a basic social institution. The natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the aid and support of the Government.

Sec. 5. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote their physical, intellectual, and social well-being.

Sec. 7. The State shall establish, maintain, and ensure adequate social services in the field of education, health, housing, employment, welfare, and social security to guarantee the enjoyment of the people of a decent standard of living.

ART. V - Duties and Obligations of Citizens

Sec. 1. It shall be the duty of the citizens to be loyal to Republic and to honor the Philippine flag, to defend the State and contribute to its development and welfare, to uphold the Constitution and obey the laws, and to cooperate with the duly constituted authorities in the attainment and preservation of a just and orderly society.

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of every citizen to engage in gainful work to assure himself and his family a life worthy of human dignity.

ART. XV - General Provisions

Sec. 3. (1) This Constitution shall be officially promulgated in English and in Pilipino, and translated into each dialect spoken by over fifty thousand people, and into Spanish and Arabic. In case of conflict, the English text shall prevail.

(2) The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and formal adoption of a common national language to be known as Filipino.

(3) Until otherwise provided by law, English and Filipino shall be the official languages.

Sec. 8. (1) All euucational institutions shall be under the supervision of, and subject to regulation by the State. The State shall establish and maintain a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development.

(2) All institutions of higher learning shall enjoy academic freedom.

( 3) The study of the Cons ti tut ion shall be part of the curricula in all schools.

(4) All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship, and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency.

(5) The State shall maintain a system of free public elementary education and, in areas where finances permit, establish and maintain a system of free public education at least up to the secondary level.

( 6) The State shall provide citizenship and vocational training to adult citizens and out-ofschool youth, and create and maintain scholarship for poor and deserving students.

(7) Educational institutions, other than those established by religious orders, mission boards, and charitable organizations, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines, or corporations or associations sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens. The control and administration of educational institutions shall be vested in citizens of the Philippines. No educational institution shall be established exclusively for aliens, and no group of aliens shall comprise more than one-third of the enrollment in any school. The provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to schools established for foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents and, unless otherwise provided by law, for other foreign temporary residents.

(8) At the option expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, and without cost to them and the Government, religion shall be taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high schools as may be provided by law.

Sec. 9. (1) The State shall promote scientific research and invention. The advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development.

(2) Filipino culture shall be preserved and developed for national identity. Arts and letters shall be under the patronage of the State.

(3) The exclusive right to inventions, writings, and artistic creations shall be secured to inventors, authors, and artists for a limited period. Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other forms of incentives shall be provided for specially gifted citizens.

Sec. 11. The State shall consider the customs, traditions, beliefs, and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of state policies.

Sec. 13. (1) The armed forces of the Philippines shall include a citizens army composed of all able-bodied citizens of the Philippines who shall undergo military training as may be provided by law. It shall keep a regular force necessary for the security of the State.

(2) The citizens army shall have a corps of trained officers and men in active duty status as may be necessary to train, service, and keep it in reasonable preparedness at all times.

ART. XVII - Transitory Provisions

Sec. 3 (2) all proclamations, orders, decrees,instructions, acts promulgated, issued, or done by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law or the ratification of this Constitution, unless modified, revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or other acts of the incumbent President, or unless expressly and explicitly

modified or repealed by the regular National Assembly. 35

Hence, the philosophy of education under the New Society--

that education should be realistic or functional -- defined the

35The Development of the Philippine Constitution, NMPC, 1974), pp. 201-224.

The 1935 constitution also included some of the basic provisions for education before 1972. (see The Development of the Philippine Constitution, 1935 Constitution (NMPC, 1974). Contents of the curriculum in the New Society, however, still reflected some of these provisions:

Art. II Declaration of Principles Sec. 4. The natural right and duty of parents in

rearing of the youth for civic efficiency should receive the aid and support of the government.

Art. XIV -- General Provisions Sec. 3. The Congress shall take steps toward the

development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing native languages. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official

Sec. 4.

Sec. 5.

languages. The State shall promote scientific invention. Arts and letters shall patronage. The exclusive right to inventions shall be secured to inventors for a limited period.

research be under writings authors

and its and and

All educational institutions shall be under the supervision of and subject to regulation by the State. The Government shall establish and maintain a complete and adequate system of public education, and shall provide at least free public primary instruction, and citizenship training to adult citizens. All schools shall aim to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience, and vocational efficiency, and to teach the duties of citizenship. Optional religious instruction shall be maintained in the public schools as now authorized by law. Universities established by the State shall enjoy academic freedom. The State shall create scholarships in arts, science, and letters for specially gifted citizens.

ultimate and immediate aims of education. The new constitutional

mandate to provide education for its citizens also meant a

modification of the classical curriculum and suggested a

different conception of the relations among the individual, the

social order, and economic development. 36 As education was an

instrument in the building of the new social order, the content

of the curriculum under the New Society, which all schools had to

adopt, had to reflect the provisions of the 1973 constitution.

This, in ef feet, resulted in the categorization of curriculum

content. One category included the present curriculum which had

withstood the test of time and change and the proposed new

content. Since the New Society was not revolutionary but

evolutionary in character, much of the old content had to remain

visible. 37 Some examples of the new content centered around

"relevantizing" education to the goals of national development;

stressing scientific, technological and vocational efficiency;

preserving and developing Filipi no cul tu re. To 11 relevant i ze 11

education, courses such as Population Education, Taxation,

Nutrition Education, Food Production, Cooperative Education,

Consumer Education were taught at the three levels of education.

In addition, the content was supposed to enhance Filipinism

and national ism. Therefore in a move to "f il ipini ze" education,

an order from the DEC required that all textbooks for all levels

Of education should be of Filipino authorship. The result was a

37Ibid. p. 13.

mushrooming of textbook authors, publishers and distributors.

These texts, however, had to be approved by the textbook

division, before Lc:ing distributed to schools for use. Most of

the books written by Filipino authors were texts for

communication arts: English and Filipino, social studies,

history, and government. These were immediately adopted. There

were also homeroom guidelines that were immediately used. These

were texts that were used in both public and private schools. The

books for the sciences such as arithmetic and physics were

gradually written by Filipinos, but basic texts were still those

of foreign authorship and not uniformly required.

The content that related to the redirection and achievement

of the goals of a new social order was another category. Courses

such as the Youth Development (YDT) and Citizens Army Training

(CAT) were required for all high school graduates. 38 The

physical education program was revised to include health, music,

and scouting. 39

Finally, the last content category pertained to the

attainment of the right moral and ethical values; the proper

behavior, and the right skills in order to be an effective and

contributing member of society. The homeroom period was to deal

with this, as was the Youth Civic Action Program.

38This was to implement the 1973 constitution provision on keeping a regular force for the security of the state (see 1973 constitution, Sec. 13, 1-2.

39Albaraccin, "Content of the Curriculum for the New Society," in Manuel, New Thrusts in Philippine Education, p. 14.

The constitutional provisions in effect placed a great

responsibility on the education system to educate its citizens

which comprise the country's human resources. "All developmental

goals enshrined in the new constitution [were] designed for the

mass of citizens. All governmental efforts [were] geared toward

giving them a better life. In a fundamental way, these [were] the

very reasons for the new constitution. 1140

Other Developmental Thrusts of the New Society

We assume that the most fundamental objective of education

is the development of the individual's potential which will

simultaneously improve society. Thus, educational policies in the

New Society had been geared to the accomplishment of better

manpower production through the understanding by the student of

current national problems. The slogan "Education for Development"

reflected the country's preoccupation with development especially

after 1975. Education was after all, the main vehicle to attain

the national development goals of the New Society. It should also

be noted that one of the first set of educational projects

covered by the Educational Development Decree of 1972, was the

establishment of the Educational Development Council to

coordinate curriculum and staff development activities.

Schools were not the only means of achieving new goals.

Other government agencies such as the National Economic

40 Demetrio Quirino, Jr, "Population Quality," in The ~velopment of the Philippine Constitution (National Media Production Center, 1974), p. 173.

oevelopment Authority, the Department of Local Government and

community Development, with the Ministry of Education and Culture

(MECS) through the different regional offices set up development

programs and projects according to the needs and resources of the

region. Development activities, therefore, were varied from

region to region. For example, during an echo seminar (seminar

given by a participant of the original seminar) delivered at a

regional conference for Region I, the term "development' was

defined as: (1) promoting better quality of life for the people;

(2) making people aware of their responsibilities in building a

democratic society; (3) promoting justice, fairness, concern for

others, and respect for duly constituted authority; and (4)

promoting national unity -- !sang Bansa, !sang Diwa (One nation,

one ideal). 41 , 42

The various interpretations of this definition of

development in each region of the country had nevertheless the

same theme - development through education. The main thrusts of

these development efforts were toward: (1) ecological

development; (2) countryside development; (3) barangay (barrio or

41 Bernardino M. Reyes, "Development Through Education", talk delivered at a Ministry of Education and Culture Region I Conference, 1980.

42This writer is from Region II, but the seminar attended was in Region I. Hence, the contents of the seminar were tailored for that particular Region. It was, however, practical in that some aspects of the seminar could be applied on a broad level. Also, in a previous statement, it was pointed out that development activities were tailored to the needs of the region.

grassroots) development; (4) economic development; (5) youth

aevelopment; and (6) reforms in government service. 43

Ecological development included development of the community

of man -- for the people, and making it a better place to live.

First, man/woman had to improve his/her life by improving his/her

immediate surroundings: the family, then the community, the

country and the world as a whole. Secondly, the improvement had

to be within bounds of logic, reason, sanity and the capability

of the world we live in.

Development of the countryside referred to the development

of the different regions particularly in the rural areas. This

would mean also regional dispersal, i.e., not concentrating

commerce, industries and educational facilities/institutions

especially of higher learning, in urban areas. Attention was to

be toward the development of the rural areas for better roads,

health and educational facilities and rural electrification.

The government also involved the people in the grassroots

level. Barangay development stressed better participation of the

people in the lower levels of government, especially the barangay

or village, barrio government. 44

Economic development involved a nation-wide land reform,

tourism development and a shift from traditional exports, such as

43 rbid.

. 44The term barangay had been used in the olden times of Philippine history. It referred to the small communities. As they became more organized, the term was used to refer to the basic Unit of government.

oil, sugar, lumber and gold to nontraditional exports like

manufacturing products - automotive parts, digital clocks, etc.

One other main thrust of education was to develop cultural

programs which were also vital aspects in the growth of a society

or in the development of a nation. The agencies that were

responsible for the ministry's cultural programs were the

National Museum, the National Historical Institute, the Institute

of National Language, and the National Library (see structure and

organization of the MEC, Chart VII in chapter II}. For these

cultural agencies to be able to assist the ministry efficiently

and effectively in its many responsibilities in matters having to

do with cultural interest and development, they had to remain

alert to changing needs and be constantly in search for ways to

make cultural programs and activities more effective and less

costly. The cultural agencies of the MEC are responsible for the

promotion of cultural and intellectual cooperation in the

promotion of cultural research and publication of materials. The

cultural activities of the ministry, therefore, had to make all

cultural and historical works adjunct to the country's

educational system. By pursuing these various cultural

activities, programs and projects, the cultural institutions

could provide the studentry at the three levels of the

educational system, as well as the general populace, with an

educational service of improving quality education. 45

45serafin D. Quison, "The Cultural Agencies under the MECS," ~cation and Culture Journal, pp. 73-78.

The function of education in the development of sports in

the Philippines is conceived and expressed in its conceptual

framework: "Education for All" and "Sports for All. 1146 These

programs for sports are implemented in the physical education

subject, a required course for all students at all levels (except

graduate students). It is in this program that basic skills and

knowledge are acquired for lifetime participation in sports. The

agency responsible for the implementation of this program within

the school system and the community, is the Bureau of Sports

Development.

In summary, the state recognized the vital role of the youth

in nation-building, and thus promoted their physical,

intellectual, and social well-being. In order for the youth to

contribute to national progress, they had to be involved in

government affairs and in productive jobs. It had been aptly

observed that the country was a young country because its people

were composed mostly of the youth. It was also said that a

country could be strong and viable, and would be able to surmount

difficulties only if the youth were prepared and at the same time

46 The principle of "Sports for All" is a universal declaration which states that "the practice of sports is a fundamental right for all, and this right is not different in Principle from the right to adequate food, shelter and medical care," in UNESCO Charter of Sports for All, adopted in Brisbane, Australia, 1982, in Aparicio H. Mequi, "Crisis in Philippine Sports: A Lack of Unanimity in Purposes and Priorities~" in ~ucation and Culture Journal, pp. 79-85.

strong. It was provided in the constitution that the youth would

be given aid and support in education.

Aside from government policies on education, the

constitution also provided for the establishment and maintenance

of adequate social services to guarantee the enjoyment of a

decent standard of life for the people. There are declared state

policies to this effect which are implemented by various

government agencies whose duties were prescribed by the

constitution to develop the country's human resources. Hence,

broadly stated, education in the New Society, was for the

improvement of the quality of human life; in the words of the

former First Lady, Imelda Marcos to build a compassionate

society, "a true, good and beautiful community."47

47sutaria, "Curricular Imperatives of the New Society," in Manuel, et. al, New Thrust, p. 32.

CHAPTER V

DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS IN EDUCATION

It may be recalled that the 1970s constituted a period of

redirection and adjustment in the Philippine educational system's

aims, reorganization in structure of the Ministry of Education

and Culture (MEC) and various curricular reforms in all

educational levels.

Previous efforts at educational reform had been hampered by

certain factors such as the political culture which allowed

powerful vested interests and certain political quarters to

dominate government decisions and actions. Pressure from such

groups obstructed the passage of bills vital to the advancement

of education. A number of laws of uncertain value were passed.

For example, special schools were established in areas where

conditions did not warrant their establishment, and some schools

became state colleges named after some of the powerful people in

the government. 1

The early 1970s was termed a "period of new optimism in

education." 2 While certain significant developments during this

period tended to hamper reforms in education, other developments

spurred new and vigorous efforts for educational reforms. Among

such developments were the issuing of presidential decrees and

1MEC: Manila,Philippines, Report on Educational Developments .!_!_l the Seventies, 1970-1979, p. 3.

2Ibid., p. 4.

supporting general orders and letters of instruction issued in

quick succession, which in effect cleared the way for a new

climate of order. Many of the decrees and other developments were

notable in paving the way for the implementation of reforms in

the government and education, especially those outlined in the

presidential commission's landmark report in 1970, Education for

National Development. 3 The pace of reform was slow, but it gained

momentum with the implementation of the plan for massive

reorganization of the administrative structure of the then

Department of Education and the reorientation of its personnel

its programs. 4 This reform in the administrative organization

and structure of the MEC, conformably to P. D. No. 1, was

implemented in 1973.5

The reorganization, designed to achieve greater economy and

efficiency in the service, called for the establishing of

thirteen regional offices, and corresponding decentralization of

a number of functions, the replacement of the line bureaus and

the establishment of services for planning, administration,

financial management and information and publication. The MEC

then had increased capacity to move forward with the massive

reorientation of its personnel on the new commitment required in

public service in line with the government's thrusts on

Political, social and cultural development. In 1977, this

3Ibid., pp. 2-8.

4Priorities and Prospects for Development, p. 292.

5Report on Educational Developments, p. 9.

reorientation program was carried down to the teacher level. The

principal aim of these programs was to enable teachers to infuse

their teaching with the imperative attitudes and values in the

New Society. Substantial salary increases of teachers and school

officials added more incentive for more active and better

involvement in programs for the New Society (see Table V). By way

of comparison, the increase in basic pay from 1960-1969 was about

25 percent. The table indicates that the increase in teachers'

salary from 1972 to 1979 was about 90 percent, an increase of

about 287 pesos.6

In the field of financial and management improvement,

considerable simplification was achieved with the

decentralization of many functions, which used to be done in

Manila, to the regional offices. There was increased financial

assistance to provincial, municipal, city, and barangay (barrio)

high schools from 1971-1980. The MEC believed that improved

education would have important effects not only on labor

productivity, but also on the general welfare of the people.

Thus, the Ministry of Education and Cul tu re launched several

major educational reforms and encouraged schools to implement

innovative strategies.

6rbid. p. 14. Also note that the amounts indicated in the table are in Philippine pesos.

TABLE V

Salary Increases of Teachers 1972-1979

---------------------------------------------------------------1972 1976 1977 1978 1979

----------------------------------------------------------------Teacher 3 316 426 517 574 603

Teacher 4 347 470 572 603 634

Teacher 5 367 494 600 634 666

Head Teacher 3 367 494 600 634 666

Head Teacher 4 386 520 610 666 736

Head Teacher 5 426 546 622 736 774

Elem. School Principal I 426 546 640 736 774

Elem. School Principal II 494 634 666 813 855

Elem. School Principal III 546 600 759 898 944

District Supervisor 597 700 773 992 1043

Division Supervisor 603 736 812 992 1096 plus merit increase

--------------

Source: Report on Educational Development in the Seventies 1970-1979, p. 14.

Educational Reforms

Education must respond to the needs and requirements of the

society it serves. Any changes in society call for corresponding

changes in educational policy and direction. The concept of

development has had a distinctive meaning in the New Society

which gave the educational system both the redirection and

reassurance it needed. It meant the responsibility of the

education sector to help the country recover from the economic

crisis of the pre-1972 years. From the economists' standard of

measure for economic growth and development, 11 raising the Gross

National Product, 11 in order "to insure national survival and

material strength became the compelling motivation of national

planning and implementation. 11 With national development goals

more .:.:learly dt:fLu.::J, education found the necessary guidance and

basis for instituting important reforms in the system. Such

reforms, while reflecting the basic thrusts of government in all

social and economic areas, were designed to achieve above all, a

reorientation of the people's values, attitudes and habits.7

Even as a country may pursue various development programs,

such as infrastructure constructions, industrialization, use of

new technology in agr icul tu re, it is really the extent of the

7Alfredo T. Morales, and Lourdes S. Sumagaysay, "Per spec ti ves on Educational Innovation in the Philippines, 11

Paper read in the National Seminar on Educational Innovation for Development, DEC, Manila, 5-6 January, 1976, in Department of Education and Cul tu re, Educational Innovation for Development: ~rspectives, Community Outreach, Curriculum Planning and ~nagement, Report of National Seminar on Educational Innovation ~ Development, 5-6 January 1976, (Manila, Philippines: National esearch and Development Centre for Teacher Education, 1976).

development of the country's human resources that will, in the

final analysis, determine that country's development. The value

of education in this regard is underscored.

Some of the educational reforms launched under the DEC in

response to the recommendation of the PCSPE were: (1) curricular

reforms, ( 2) The National College Ent ranee Examination ( NCEE),

(3) bilingual education, (4) Youth Civic Action Program (YCAP),

(5) democratizing access to education, and non-formal education.

Curricular Reforms

In Department Order No. 6. s. 1973 of the Department of

Education and Culture, the following specific guidelines for

curricular redirection were underscored. First, there should be

greater emphasis on the development of moral and ethical values.

Secondly, there should be an integration of real life situations

in all subject matter content. Third, the curriculum should

include subjects expressing the urgent needs and problems of the

country, such as population education, food production, and tax

consciousness, or others that may be suggested by the department.

Next, the curriculum should be production-oriented, with an

emphasis on youth participation in community affairs. Finally,

there should be non-formal education or extension-services for

the out-of-school youth.

The DEC then adopted a number of changes in the curricula

aimed toward raising the quality of educational services and

meeting demands for greater relevance in education. Some of the

curricular reforms that were instituted and aimed at: (1)

enriching the curriculum with a content that reflected new

economic and social reforms; (2) implementing work-oriented

teaching approaches and programs particularly in elementary and

secondary levels; ( 3) adopting a single-track general education

program for secondary schools that would emphasize work

activities, pre-vocational training, strong values orientation,

youth development and citizens army training; and (4) including

Youth Civic Action Program (YCAP) activities in all levels and

making civic action work a requirement for graduation from

college. 8 These curricular reforms were implemented in each of

the educational levels.

Curricular Enrichment. A principal aspect of curricular

reforms was the integration in relevant subject areas of content,

that reflected government thrusts and social and economic reforms

designed to achieve national goals more efficiently. Integration

was aimed at ''relevantizing" education to the needs and situation

of the country. Some of the new content integrated in relevant

subject areas were: agrarian reform, population education,

nutrition education, food production/green revolution,

environmental education including reforestation, taxation

education, tourism, drug education, cooperative education, wise

conservation and utilization of natural resources, consumer

education and Buy-Filipino movement. These content areas

8csc-DEC Jet Continuing Program Through Distance Teaching, Learning Package No. 9, Educational Reforms, (Manila:NMPC), p.2.

integrated in relevant subject areas were intended to make the

youth aware of the nation's problems. It was the primary

responsibility of education to inform its citizens about the

problems of society and be informed of the alarming consequences

for the country and themselves and hence be able to respond and

contribute to its resolution.

More and more, it was believed that education should reflect

the changing nature and needs of society and the total

environment. Book learning in the classrooms was to be

supplemented by actual practice. If schoolchildren were aware of

the dire consequences of overpopulation, or environmental

pollution, they would take the necessary measures, as adults, to

reduce population growth rates or minimize the effects of

pollution. The curricular enrichment, therefore, was designed to

make students understand better the conditions around them and,

hopefully, respond in a responsible way. In line with the

provisions of the constitution, the study of the 1973

constitution was required in all levels toward making every

citizen aware not only of the fundamental law of the land but

also of his rights, duties and responsibilities.9

Work-Oriented Programs. Work education had always been a

part of the school curriculum since public education was

introduced in the country. However, it was not a well-developed

Program. Under the program of educational reforms, guidelines

9Article XV, Sect. 8 (3) of 1973 constitution states that, the study of the Constitution shall be part of the curricula in

au schools. ti

issued under Department Order No. 6, s. 1973, still pointed out

the need for a curriculum that would be value-and work-oriented.

The adoption of the work-oriented programs and teaching

approaches was designed to enable the school system to contribute

more effectively to the demands of the country's national

economic development. It aimed at developing in children an

awareness of the value and the dignity of work, particularly

manual work. This curricular reform was thus designed to correct

the prevailing attitudes which did not recognize the value of

work. It also aimed at correcting the national situation of a

large number of unemployed graduates not meeting a corresponding

large number of job requirements.

Teachers were allowed to institute programs requiring

considerable time even 40 percent of the total school time in

actual productive work. Children who did work, such as helping in

planting or harvesting, were given educational credit for such

work. Among the approaches suggested to implement the work

orientation were: the enrichment of the curriculum through

integrating work concepts, or inclusion of additional uni ts in

work education; the use of theory and pr act ice scheme, (the

practicum concept); and developing a core curriculum based on

community resources or activities which would be invariably work

related.10

The objective of work experience was to develop among the

young an appreciation for work and be responsible in maintaining

10csc-DEC, Educational Reforms, p. 2.

an attractive and safe environment. 11 Schools literally

implemented this concept and objective. In one such instance, at

a rural public elementary school where the writer attended, work

education was usually the period before the noon time break.

Pupils were told to carry stones from the river for paving a

flower terrace for school beautification, and building stone

walls or steps. Likewise, a grade one class that was attended by

this writer, all the pupils were told to carry stones from the

Llver during the work education period, but the writer was

assigned as the "checker" or sweeper of the room because the

river was far and she could not carry a stone bigger than the

textbook used. This was also a typical solution for pupils who

were not strong enough to handle physical work. On other days,

depending on the time of the year, pupils had to cut the tall

grass around the school surroundings in particular areas assigned

to their class.

Work education also meant polishing or scrubbing the school

corridors with coconut husks especially when a school official

was visiting. This was the work education period -- always trying

to keep the pupils "do something" to pass the time, but with no

productive ef feet on the community. This writer can only

speculate from such an experience what other schools with lesser

and/or poorer facilities were "doing" during work education

periods. The whole concept of the work-oriented curriculum

11Juan L. Manuel, Source Book in Philippine Education (Manila, 1973), p. 220, in UNESCO, Combining Education and Work.

therefore revolved around the knowledge that work orientation is

to be productive and developmental. This developmental process

was to start in kindergarten or grade one, and continue from

grade to grade, with work concepts, habits, and skills growing in

complexity in corresponding and increasingly richer and more

varied activities of the curriculum in all school levels. 1 2

In later years, the work-oriented curriculum was implemented

in at least five varied ways: (1) by integrating work experiences

in the different subject disciplines, (2) by using work

activities as the core or matrix of learning experiences with

other subject areas, depending on the relevance of content, used

for enrichment or as tools, ( 3) by using part of the day for

academic work and part of the day for work activities -- the

fifty-fifty or half-half plan, following the theory-and-practice

scheme, (4) by voluntary and active participation in civic action

activities which was reported in the same manner as the conduct

assignment in character education, and ( 5) through the special

subjects medium. This program continues today. In the elementary

school level, work experiences are integrated in all school

subjects. One period a week is devoted to actual work in every

subject (see Table VI).

12Josef ina R. Navarro, "The Work Oriented Curriculum," in Manuel, et al, Thrusts in Education under the New Society. p. 57.

TABLE VI

Elementary School Curriculum Time Allotment -- Minutes Per Day

----------------------------------------------------------------Daily Time Allotment

Subject Areas I II III IV V-VI

-----------------------------------------------------------------opening Activities 20 20 20 20 20

communication Arts (English) 60 60 60 50 60

communication Arts (Pilipino)60 60 60 50 60

Mathematics 40 40 40 50 50

Physical Education 30 30 30 30 30

Music and Art Education 30 30 30 30 30

Supervised Activities 20 20 20

Science and Health 30 30 40

Work Education* 20 20 30 30 50

Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) 40 40

Total Minutes per day 260 260 320 350 400

* In Grades I and I Work Education emphasizes the development of desirable work attitudes and habits through learning situations relevant to everyday chores at home, school and the community and the production of useful articles from recycled materials. Work on recycled materials shall be correlated with art and with projects in the various subject areas.

If the teacher is skillful in integrating work education with other subject areas, e.g., social studies, the separate period for the subject may be omitted in Grades I and II, but there should be stress on the attainment of the expectancies for the grades: desired attitudes towards work and basic work skills applicable to daily chores.

Beginning Grade III, this area covers the phase of work in elementary agriculture, home-making and family living, industrial arts, retail trades and YCAP activities designed to develop awareness and interest in occupational jobs, increase knowledge and understanding of systematic ways of doing things, foster positive values and attitudes towards work and cultivate prop).r work habits and skills in the utilization of resources. 3

In the secondary level, students take practical arts

courses from the first year through the fourth year and may be

allowed to engage in out-of-school activity one school day a week

in lieu of the daily eighty-minute practical arts period (see

Table VII, Revised Secondary Curriculum) . 14 The main thrust of

the work-oriented curriculum consists of preparing the individual

for a successful life of work by increasing his options for

occupational choice later in life. The work-oriented curriculum

is supposed to make individuals productive not by just imparting

cognitive knowledge to them but also by socializing them in

various ways to develop their productiveness, achievement

motivation, and willingness to accept responsibility and to take

order. These were seen as useful vocational values that are

supposed to be applicable when students are ready to assume

their places in the world of work. 15 The work-oriented curriculum

is expected to help realize the goals of the New Society by

developing self-reliant, hardworking, creative and productive

13 uNESCO, "Reorienting School Programmes," in Combining Educalion and Work, pp. 11-12.

14Jaime Geller, Educational Trends for Philippine Schools (Rizal, Philippines: National Book Store, 1976) p. 90.

15 Ibid., p. 61.

individuals equipped with the skills and competencies essential

to national development.

Emphasis on Basic Education. The main thrust of basic

education in the seventies was the improvement in: (l)

achievement of pupils, ( 2) access to educational opportunities,

and (3) survival rate. 16 Toward this end, the ministry undertook

projects and activities on curriculum reforms for improving the

quality of education. These projects and activities were based on

the findings of the Survey of Outcomes of Elementary Education

( SOUTELE).

The SOUTELE was a study conducted in 1974 by the Department

of Education and Culture in coordination with international and

government agencies, such as the United Nations International

Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Educational Projects

Implementation Task Force (EDPITAF), the Fund for Assistance to

Private Education (FAPE). The study revealed that sixth graders

across the nation were deficient in skills basic to learning

success in the different subject areas, i.e. , those which

traditionally are referred to as the three R's

writing, and arithmetic.

reading,

The projects launched in response to the findings of SOUTELE

were: the Elementary Learning Continuum (ELC), the Experimental

Elementary Education Program (EEEP) and the "Return to the

Basics." The implementation of the "Return to the Basics" was

designed to follow up activities initiated under the ELC and

16Report on Educational Development in the Seventies. p. 30.

EEEP. The former program defined the basic learning for all

elementary school children and the later was designed to

construct a curriculum which would produce better quality

outcomes especially in the basic skills . 17 The "Return to the

aasics" included the preparation of multilevel instructional

materials in reading, language and mathematics.

Special Education Program. The DEC provided for the

expansion of its already existing special education program, in

line with the program for the development of children. 18 This was

to assure that education was also delivered to disadvantaged as

well as mentally gifted children. Some colleges in the Metro

Manila were already training special education teachers to be

able to meet the increasing need for more special education

classes. These classes included those for the visually impaired,

mentally retarded, mentally gifted, as well as those children

with behavior problems. All of these programs continue today.

The Revised Secondary School Curriculum. The commission's

report observed that graduates of secondary education did not

generally meet the minimum requirements for entrance into college

courses and neither did they have the adequate technical

competence to match job requirements. 19 As Bernardino observes,

"there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the direction and

orientation of secondary education in the Philippines;" neither

1 7Report on Educational Development, p. 30.

18Educational Reforms. p. 4

19 b'd Ii., p. 4

should it be considered the weakest link in the educational

system that it had always been lamentably regarded, but should be

"acknowledged as a "potential factor in accelerating the

country's social and economic development." This could only be

aone if and when secondary education is governed by policies and

programs that are effectively carried out and implemented. 20

Acting on this finding of the commission, the National Board

of Education directed a study, by a committee, known as Task

Force II. 21 This task force studied the secondary curriculum and

recommended one that would conform to the national development

goals, the educational goals, and the functions of secondary

education. Their recommendations became the basis of the revised

secondary education program of 1973, which was officially

implemented with the issuing of Department Order No. 20, s. 1973,

on 30 May 1973 (see Appendix F). 22 , 23 The order addressed to all

directors of public, private and vocational schools, and

presidents of state colleges and universities, contained the

revised secondary education program as approved by the NBE on 8

20vi taliano Bernardino, "Needed Di re ct ions in Secondary Education," in Unpublished Speeches, p. 56.

21Josefina R. Serion, "The Revised Secondary Curriculum," in Bienvenido Manuel, et al, eds. New Thrusts in Philippine Education, p. 73; also Andres R. Asistin, "The Secondary Education Program: New Shapes and Forms", in Serafin V. c. Guingona, Issues in Philippine Education (Phi Delta Kappa, Manila, Philippines Chapter, 1982), pp. 45-48.

22Educational Developments, p. 35.

23 Department of Education and Culture, "The Revised Secondary Education Program 197 3," Department Order No. 20, s, 1973 -.c....::...

MaY 1973. It also included the revised objectives of secondary

education and a brief description of the subject areas. A

follow-up memorandum from the director of private schools, Julian

yballe, on 8 June 197 3, to all secondary schools is found in

Appendix G. It contained general information for the preparation

of the programs's implementation starting in the school year

1974-75. Guidelines were issued under Memorandum No. 139, s.

1974, dated 27 November 1974 (see Appendix H). 24

The revised secondary curriculum was aimed at prcviding the

student with: (1) general competence in certain occupational

skills essential for job entry such as handicraft workers, farm

hands or craftsmen; (2) substantial general skills as entrance

pre-requisites to the more sophisticated specific occupational

areas in technical institutes and/or manpower training centers;

and ( 3) adequate preparation to meet minimum college entrance

requirements. 25 These objectives were derived from the broader

objectives or aims of the whole educational system as recommended

by the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education,

and provided flexibility for meeting the multi-streamed needs of

the adolescents in the New Society.

24This a sample of how programs were implemented in the field as ordered from the department heads. The Revised Secondary School Program was not uniformly implemented in 1973, because the guidelines were issued later.

25Educational Reforms, p. 5.

TABLE IX

THE REVISED SECONDARY CURRICULUM

Time Allotment - Minutes per week ---------------------------------------------------------------

1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year --------------------------------------------------

subjects Units Min. Units Min. Units Min. Units Min. per week per week per week per week

---------------------------------------------------------------comm. Arts

(Eng.iish) 2 300 1 180 1 180 1 180 comm. Arts

(Filipino) 1 180 1 180 1 180 1 180 social

studies 1 180 1 180(1) 1 180 l 180

science 1 180 1 180 2 300 2 300

Mathematics 1 180 1 180 1 180 1 180

Practical Arts/ vocational

Course ( 2) 1 300 1 300 1 300 1 300

Electives (Academic/ 1 180/ 2 360/ 2 360/ Vocational) 300(3) 600(4) 600(4)

Youth Dev. Train-ing (I-III) 1 300 1 300 1 300 1 300

Citizen Army Training (IV)

-----------------------------------------------------------------(1) The teaching of the New Constitution shall be integrated in the course in Philippine History and Government.

(2) Series of vocational subjects to choose from which will give the students sufficient training for initial gainful employment and/or preparation for the postsecondary technical institutes. There should be as many series or sequences of vocational courses ( agr icul tu re, fishing,, etc. as the community demands and which the school can afford to offer.

(3) If elective is Practical Arts and in Shop or Field Work, it should be one unit for 300 minutes a week or one hour a day for five days a week. If elective is a academic, it should be one unit for 180 minutes a week or one hour a day, five days a week.

(4) If elective is academic (two units) it should be two separate subjects to 180 minutes each, one hour, three days a week or 1 1/2 hours, two days a week. If elective is vocational, it s·hould be two uni ts for 600 minutes a week or two hours a day, five days a week.

Youth Development Training (I-III) comprises Scouting, Physical Education, and Health Education Programs for the First, Second, and Third Year students of high schools, with Scouting taken two days a week. Physical Education twice a week and Health, once a week.

Citizen Army Training I (IV) for all Fourth year students, boys and girls, is a course intended to provide basic citizen army training and will be taken two days a week, P.E. and Health will have the same time allotment as in the first three years.

Time Allotment of subjects:

300 minutes - 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week

180 minutes - 60 minutes a day, 3 days a week or

- 90 minutes a day, 2 days a week

360 minutes - 180/180 - 2 separate subjects

600 minutes - 120 minutes (2 hrs.) a day, 5 days a week

The academic unit in the secondary schools will be measured by a full hour, that is, a single period one unit subject meets three hours or 180 minutes a week throughout the year, while a double-period subject, 60 minutes a day for five days a week throughout the year. Other adjustments in scheduling may be experimented on by schools on the basis of the circumstances in individual schools and as long as the time requirements per week are complied with. Any departure in scheduling the time allotment to fit individual types of schools shall have prior approval of the Secretary of Education.

Character Education will be integrated functionally into all school activities both in and out of the school.

Guidance services will be instituted where there are none and those already existing will be strengthened.

Music will be optional. It may be given during the Guidance period or as a vocational course elective or as a cocurricular activity.

source: Department Order No. 20, s. 1973, "Enclosure B."

----------------------------------------------------------------As shown in Chart IX, in the preceding pages, the new

secondary school program had many significant features. First, it

was to be a one-track curriculum with practical arts required in

all the years. Second, electives were to be offered in the

second, third and fourth years, but not in the first. Third,

character education and right conduct were not to be offered as

separate subjects. Four th, teaching in every subject was to be

concept-based, and fifth, the multi-disciplinary and inter-

disciplinary approach were to be utilized with emphasis in on

"learning how to learn," and learning how to think. All of these

features were implemented in 1973 and are still in existence. 26

The National College Entrance Examination

Prior to the commission's survey, one of the general obser-

vations was that there was overcrowding in certain college

courses, poor quality of high school graduates, and consequently,

unemployed or unemployable graduates. One reason was the absence

of a national system to regulate admission into the higher

26For a description of the subjects in Josefina P. Serion, "the Revised Secondary Manuel, et al, Thrust in Philippine Education.

the chart, Curriculum,"

see in

educational level. 27 Attempts had been made in the 1950s to enact

iaws providing for entrance examinations for those seeking

admission to academic or professional degree programs requiring

at least four years of study. Such attempts however failed.

As provided under P.D. 6-A, a program was formulated to

upgrade academic standards through admission testing. This was

followed up by Presidential Decree No.146 -- a decree providing

for the upgrading of the quality of education in the Philippines

by requiring all high school graduates to pass a national college

entrance examination to be admitted to four-year post-secondary

degree programs. 28

The office responsible for implementing P.D. 146 was to be

National Educational Testing Center (NETC} of the Ministry of

Education and Culture. The objectives of the NCEE were twofold:

to improve the quality of education, and to help maintain a

viable balance of manpower supply in the country for national

development. 29 By 3 April 1973, the secretary of education and

culture had approved the rules and regulations implementing this

decree. This decree has contributed to redirecting of higher

education to make it more responsive to development needs and

...., "7

""'Ibid., p. 10.

28The complete title of P. D. 146 promulgated in March 9, 1973, is "Upgrading the Quality of Education in the Philippines by Requiring all High School Graduates Seeking Admission to Postsecondary Degree Programs Necessitating a Minimum of Four Years' Study to Pass a National College Entrance Examination.

29Educational Development. p. 49.

allow for maximum fulfillment.30 The FAPE (Fund for Assistance

to Private Education) was authorized to prepare and administer

the first NCEE in 1973. In the following years, the DEC, later

the MEC had greater participation in the test preparation and

administration.

The Youth Civic Action Program

Also popularly known as YCAP, this program was designed to

develop greater social consciousness and service among the youth

through meaningful experience in social service particularly in

rural or depressed communities.

Initially, the program consisted of volunteer summer acti-

vities for youth. Later it expanded into a more significant

program for the youth to bring about their greater involvement in

community and national development activities. The program was

strengthened by a presidential directive to institute more

significant youth programs. The objectives of the program were:

1. To acquaint the youth with the goals, programs, thrusts, and projects of various government and socio-civic agencies in support of national development in the new society. 2. To acquaint the youth with the social and economic problems in their respective communities, and in the country in general to enable them to develop a more realistic perspective of life and contribute more actively to national development;

3. To provide more meaning to school experiences through the actual application of learning in the solution of community problems;

4. To imbue the youth with stronger civic consciousness and a deeper sense of social responsibility so that he would <'!eve lop a strong commitment towards the support of the government;

30 Ibid. f P• 11.

5. To provide opportunities for a closer cooperative and coordinated group action toward national development of all government as well as socio-civic agencies through youth civic action program;

6. To channel the energies of youth to constructive, productive, worthwhile and personally enriching activities geared toward the development of rural and depressed communities: and

7. To develop youth into hardworking, upright, orderly, self-reliant, law-abiding, ohysically fit and God-loving citizens in the New Society.31

The YCAP program was implemented in 1973 at all levels of

education -- elementary, secondary and tertiary, and continues to

the present. The activities in each level were structured to

actively involve youth in community problems, especially the de-

pressed rural areas. 'l'he YCAP program is a requirement in each

level - the number of hours depending on the level are recorded,

in order to pass on to the next level. A total number of 120

hours of civic action work is required of each student to merit a

certificate of participation in the YCAP. 32 It was necessary to

show proof of completion of such required number of hours.

The concepts of the Youth Civic Action Program are

integrated in the curriculum and, therefore form part of the

total school program. The school principal, the YCAP coordinator

and the teacher, in coordination with other interested community

personnel, determine at the beginning of each school year the

YCAP projects to be undertaken by the school. These projects may

be one of the following areas:

31 rbid., p. 12.

32 Gellor, p. 91.

A. Community Survey to Determine Places that Need Improvement

1. Field trips around the community 2. Participate in nutrition and other development

program surveys.

B. Environmental Sanitation

1. Destroying breeding places of mosquitoes and flies.

2. Waging a "no littering" campaign. 3. Waging a "no spitting" campaign. 4. Planting trees for shade and beautification. 5. Planting ornamental plants. 6. Planting vacant lots with vegetables or flowering

plants. 7. Distributing garbage cans in public places.

c. Food Production/Green Revolution

1. Green Revolution Projects in one's home. 2. Community Green Revolution project. 3. Launching a plant-a-fruit tree campaign. 4. Distributing vegetable seed-seedlings.

D. Production of Cleaning and Sanitary Equipment

1. Making midrib/soft brooms for sale at low cost. 2. Making covered garbage cans for sale at low cost. 3. Making doormats for sale at low cost.

Participate in the community including agriculture, etc. Committee. 33

development programs of the tourism, sports development,

approved by the local YCAP

Most of the activities mentioned above are integrated in the

curriculum of the elementary level. At the secondary level,

participation of students in any of the development projects for

the YCAP requirement, has to be approved by the YCAP Committee,

which is composed of the school YCAP coordinator, the Division

YCAP coordinator and the civic action officer of the Department

33uNESCO, Combining Education and Work, pp. 13-14.

of Local Government and Community Development ( DLGCD) . At the

postsecondary level, the students are required to render at least

120 hours of YCAP work, as a prerequisite for graduation.

The Youth Civic Action Program is a combination of lecture

and actual work participation. The program is a joint undertaking

of the school, the student and the community. The National YCAP

coord.i;1aling centt~i: 's observations on the program are as follows:

It has been observed that at the start of the YCAP assignments, the student participants invariably demonstrate the attitude of merely fulfilling the required 120-hour civic action work so that they may be certified as having completed the YCAP requirements. They usually do not exhibit the enthusiasm, drive or the initiative usually shown by volunteers in other community service projects. But in the later stages of their assignments or when the period of their assigned work area is reaching its peak, their enthusiasm and eagerness become more pronounce. Many instances of this trend tend to show that the civic action program of the government for students will reap a rich harvest of rfncerned and civic service oriented citizens in the future.

Bilingual education

The policy on bilingual education had been adopted in 1973

by the National Board of Education with the long-range aim of

developing a bilingual people competent in the using both English

and Filipino. 35 The development and promotion of the national

language, Filipino, was imperative for reasons of achieving

national unity and national identity. Prior to its adoption, it

was a sad observation that Filipinos coming from various parts of

the country sometimes had to speak to one another in English in

34 YCAP Handbook, National Media Production Center, Manila, 1977, p. 7, in UNESCO, Combining Education and Work, pp. 14-15.

35 rbid., p. 13.

order to be understood. However. English was to be retained as

another medium of instruction in schools, because of its value

for access to much of the world's knowledge. It was regarded as a

valuable language for inter-country communication purposes. Many

of the country's documents, political and legal were and are

written in English. Therefore, it is basically for these reasons

that the policy on bilingual education was adopted. It was hoped

that in the future, Filipinos would be able to communicate with

equal facility in both Filipino and English.

Bilingual education was defined operationally as the

separate use of Filipino and English as media of instruction in

definite subject areas. The program was to allow the use of

English and Filipino as media of instruction beginning in Grade I

in all schools. The vernacular used in the locality c.r place

where the school was located was to be allowed as auxiliary

medium of instruction in Grades I and II. The use of the local

vernacular was to be resorted to only when it was necessary in

clarifying concepts being taught through the prescribed medium

(either Filipino or English) for the subject. Pilipino however

was a must, as the medium of instruction in certain subject areas

such as: social studies or social science, character education,

health and physical education. English was to be the medium of

instruction in Science and Mathematics. Both English and Filipino

were to be taught as subjects. It was planned that in later

Years, all textbooks in the subjects mentioned above, would be in

Pilipino.

The bilingual program was implemented by the DEC, with phase

I starting with the school year 1974-75 through school year 1977-

78. Phase I was intended as a transition period in the use of

pilip.i.110 c.s rnc::Jiu1rt of instruction. Phase II was implemented in

the school year of 1978-79 through 1981-82, in which the use of

pilipino was mandatory for all schools especially in the Tagalog

areas (Filipino is based on Tagalog). For schools in the non

Tagalog areas, the use of Filipino in social studies, character

education, work education, health and physical education was

gradually implemented by levels, i.e., in school year 1978-79,

Filipino was used in the primary level, 1979-80 in intermediate,

Schools on the tertiary level were given discretion to

develop their own schedules of implementation provided that by

1984, all graduates of tertiary curriculum would have been able

to pass examinations in English and/or Filipino for the practice

of their profession.

Democratizing Access to Education

Section 8 of Article XV of the 1973 Cons ti tut ion states

that: "The State shall ... create and maintain scholarships for

poor and deserving students . . , " and Section 9 provided for"

scholarships, grants-in-aid and other forms of incentives . 11

for specially-gifted citizens. Thus, programs giving opportuni

ties for the needy but intellectually endowed students were

implemented. These programs democratizing educational access was

a significant educational reform which aimed to educate poor but

aeserving students, and to develop their leadership potential. A

system of scholarship was established to facilitate the

program. 36

1. The State Scholarship Program - the program was not only conducted for urban students, but also on the provincial or rural areas to enable students attending barangay high schools to be included in the selection.

2. The National Integration Study Grant Program - a study grant program specifically for cultural minority groups.

3. Special Study Grants - for rebel returnees especially from Southern Philippines.

4. Study Now Pay Later Plan - also known as the Educational Assistance Act of 1976 (PD 932) Under the program, a large number of poor students, who otherwise had no chance of furtrfring their education were able to obtain higher education.

Under the programs, a large number of poor students, who

otherwise had no chance of furthering their education were able

to obtain higher education.

Nonformal Education

Nonformal education has been defined as any "organized,

systematic educational activity carried on outside the framework

of the formal school system. 1138 Therefore, this educational

reform was aimed at educating the millions of out-of-school youth

and adults, who could not share in any educational benefits, and

36 rbid. p. 18.

37 rbid.

38Educational Reforms, p. 18.

who were illiterate possessing no employable skills. The DEC has

already launched programs to meet these needs which aimed to

provide: (1) basic, continuing, or further education to those who

cannot attend the formal school system; (2) training in

occupational skills either as preparation for employment or for

increasing product ion or competence; ( 3) experiences and

opportunities for cultural development; and (4) training for

specific development needs of certain professional and technical

groups.3 9 In view of these objectives, there are seven thrusts in

the Philippine Nonformal Education program (NFE) that were

implemented through the various organizations of the MEC, which

were structured for this purpose, and together with a system of

coordinating with government and non-government organizations

working or involved in NFE. 40 The office of nonformal education

was concerned with (1) functional literacy; (2) basic vocational-

technical skills training; ( 3) civic-citizenship education; ( 4)

improvement of the quality of family and country life; (5) socio-

cultural development; (6) development of moral and spiritual

values; and ( 9) effective leadership. 41 Programs carried out

under this domain have included manpower training programs,

dressmaking classes, skills training programs, farmers school on

the air, etc. These programs have not required any credentials or

39 Ibid., p. 20.

4°Felicita G.Bernardino, "Linking Formal and Non-Formal Education," in s. Guingona, Issues in Philippine Education, p. 55.

41 Ibid.

qualifications and participants have been allowed to enter and

leave the program any time. The whole idea has been to improve

employment chances and increase productive competency for those

out of formal schooling. These nonformal education activities are

sponsored by the DEC through continuing education and adult and

community education classes.

There have also been various agencies of the government

carrying out a number of nonformal education activities. The

Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) has

conducted agricultural production programs for farmers. The

Department of Local Governments and Community Development (DLGCD)

has launched projects such as the IPIL, or Integrated Planning

for Improved Living Project; rural organizations; cooperative

programs and community development programs. The Department of

Labor has sponsored the training programs for manpower

development. Thus, in recognition of the value of NFE in national

development, NFE has been adopted as an official program of the

Philippine government. 42

More recent DEC developments in nonformal education have

included the creation of the Off ice of the Undersecretary of

Nonformal Education. This was prescribed by P.O. 1139,

promulgated on 30 November 1977, and followed by Letter of

Instruction No. 607, enjoining all private schools, colleges and

42Bernardino, "Nonformal Education as an Instrument of Economic Development" in Bernardino, Perspectives in Philippine ~ucation, p. 239.

universities to participate in the NFE program. 43 Today, this

off ice is responsible for designing literary packages with

content on civic education and other useful information on

government thrusts. Another recent move by the DEC was the

decision to grant credits for knowledge and skills gained outside

the formal school system. 44 Accrediting instruments were

developed for the proper evaluation and placement of those who

trained the in the nonformal way.

Educational Innovation

In 1975, a study under the joint sponsorship and cooperation

of UNESCO and the Philippine Government, made an initial

inventory of educational innovations for development in the

Philippines. The DEC organized the National Development Group for

Educational Innovations (NDGEI), with Dr. Liceria B. Soriano as

its chairperson; it was to lay the groundwork for the study, in

cooperation with the National Research and Development Centre for

Teacher Education (NRDCTE), 45 headed by Alfredo T. Morales. 46

43 Ibid.

44 Ibid., p. 21.

45The National Research and Development Centre for Teacher Education (NRDCTE} at the same time serves as an associated centre of UNESCO's regional Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for Development, (ACEID).

46 Alfredo T. Morales, and Lourdes S. Sumagaysay, "Perspectives on Educational Innovation in the Philippines," Paper read in the National Seminar on Educational Innovation for Development, DEC, Manila, 5-6 January, 1976, in Department of Education and Culture, Manila, Philippines, Educational lnnovation for Development: Perspectives, Community Outreach,

To gather data for an initial inventory of educational

innovations in the Philippines, a questionnaire was sent to all

schools. This was in the mid 1070s, a time when the "country was

in the midst of the New Society's educational revolution. 114 7 The

background of this "educational revolution," as related by

Morales, et al, in their paper was likened to one of the famous

biblical accounts of how the fishermen toiled hard, and were

returning home without a good catch; the Master told them not to

despair and throw their nets again into the sea. Their faith was

rewarded and they were awe-struck by the incredible catch which

broke their gear. In 1972, the Filipino nation and its education-

al system was similar to the hopeless fishermen. It was also in

1972, when violent events in Philippine schools and universities

"reached its apogee in the so-called 'commune' exercises of power

even briefly but ominously in the University of the Philippines

campus. 1148 The country according to government officials was

experiencing an educational crisis, like some of the developing

nations. This isolated case of student activism was a considered

a good reason for the government to pose the challenge to the

national educati0nal system to make adjustments that would

conform to these environmental changes. However, in 1975, the

Curriculum Planning and Management, Report of National Seminar on Educational Innovations for Development, 5-6 January 1976, Manila, Philippines (Manila, Philippines: National Research and Development Centre for Teacher Education, 1976).

47Morales, "Perspectives in Educational Innovations in the Philippines," p. l.

48 Ibid.

educational system, the government, and society were said to be

partners in "saving the Filipino from the peril of a bloody

Jacobin revolution and a precarious democracy corrupted by an

unjust economy or social system headed toward an oligarchy, from

a disastrously plummeting economic retrogression, and from the

annihilation of its national and cultural identity. 1149 This

rhetoric from the Marcos regime was unquestioned at that time. As

presidential appointees, education officials had to conform to

the policies and platform of the ruling party. Most of what was

being said appeared good on paper; the necessary means to

implement the programs was lacking.

Thus, for the supportive role in economic planning for

development, the Department of Education and Culture encouraged

several educational innovations. The word "innovation" as used by

the DEC, did not mean "anything out of the ordinary," instead it

meant any change taking place" in which invention, research,

application of new techniques, and modification of educational

practices related to increase in productivity of the education

process, all play a part. 1150 Also, Soriano, the presiding officer

of a national seminar on educational innovations for development,

held on 5-6 January 1976, gave an operational definition of what

"innovation" was. She said:

Innovation as defined by UNESCO is a process of planned change. Innovation in education is a means to bring about educational changes specifically designed to individual and

49 Ibid.

50 Ibid.

society. The goal to which innovations may be directed differ from one place or ins ti tut ion to another. In the Asian context, the main goal of educational innovation as agreed by the Education Ministers Conference is development. The process of development is associated with certain fundamental and pervasive transformations in motivations, attitudes, habits and modes of though and work. If education is not to be merely a passive reflection of social forces, it has to be an active agent in bring about social change. Innovative approaches to the design, functions and methods of education systems have therefore to be seen in terms of their potential for contributing to the transfor~~tions which are associated with the process of development.

rnnovation therefore would not include such activities as the

transfer of well tried practices, returning to older practices,

progressive adaptation of certain teaching methods or content or

the propagation of elementary techniques.

In 1975, an inventory was made by the National Research and

Development Centre for Teacher Education (NRDCTE), which helped

describe and identify projects and programs conducted by some

Philippine schools, that were considered innovations in

educ at ion, i.e. they involved a process of planned change. The

inventory also categorized innovations into: (l) New orientation

and structure in education; (2) educational management; (3)

curriculum development; (4) educational technology; (5) new

structures and methods in teacher training; and (6) science

education.

In the following subsections are some selected projects and

program considered innovations in education and which fell under

---·--- -- -------51 opening remarks of

Presiding Officer, National for Development 5-6 January, Q_evelopment.

Dr. Liceria Brillantes Soriano, Seminar on Educational Innovations

1976, in Educational Innovations for

some of the categories defined by the NRDCTE. 52

~oject IMPACT

Project IMPACT, which stands for Instructional Management by

parents, Community and Teachers, was launched by the Regional

center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH), one

of seven research and development centers of the Southeast Asian

Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) • 53 Through IMPACT,

(called Proyek PAMONG in Indonesia), INNOTECH hoped to develop a

system of mass primary education that was not only economical but

also able to produce quality and functionally literate students

who otherwise cannot continue with their schooling. Started as a

pilot program in 1974 in Naga, Cebu and in Solo, Central Java,

the project called for "programmed teaching" in Levels 1 and 2

where teachers would use specially prepared materials. In the

higher elementary levels, community human resources (high school

students, home tutors, parents, skilled resources persons) were

52see NRDCTE, Educational Innovations for Development, for a complete listing of the different projects and programs that were reported as representative innovation.

The selection of projects or programs described herein, is not exclusive, but according to the impact or significance and special relevance of its innovative nature, as perceived by this writer, not only for the Philippines, but also for the educational systems of other Asian nations, who are undertaking the challenging role of meeting the demands for national development.

53 For a detailed discussion of the project, including its international dimension and expansion, see Pedro V. Flores, Educational Innovation in the Philippines: A Case Study of ~roject Impact, (Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 1977); also, Liceria B. Soriano, "Alternative Delivery Systems for Basic Education," in Rolando R. Dizon, ed. ~ducational Alternatives for the Future (Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House, 1983), pp. 214-114.

utilized to provide instruction. Project Impact in the

Philippines was described by Flores as having

developed beyond an experiment: it is a viable delivery system for mass primary education. Innovating on the basic technology of programmed instruction, the Impact system takes advantage of the close family ties among Filipinos by organizing the school population into multigrade ''families." This scheme enables older pupils to teach younger ones by programmed teaching techniques. Using the same technology, upper level pupils learn through peer-group sessions or by individual self instruction using self-instructional modules. The system allows one professionally-trained teacher to be responsible for 100 or more pupils with the assistance of one nonprofessional teaching aide and occasional help from commu1!>~ty members who tutor or demonstrate specialized skills.

In 1975 the project was implemented in other areas. It has

continued to expand in modified form up to the present. One

interesting feature of this system is the use of older students

to assist younger students. Parents also help direct self-

management of children. Learning, therefore, is through self-

instructional modules or topics, each module covering the amount

of instruction which normally takes one to two weeks to master.

There are very few set classes. Students may drop out and re-

enter at any time. The education that is being developed is

nonformal, that is, without the conventional classroom teachers.

school buildings or textbooks for every subject. building or

textbooks. A community Learning Center takes the place of the

school.

Primary education is upgraded and progress is indicated by

learning modules satisfactory completed rather than by grade

54 Ibid. p. 9.

school levels. While Project IMPACT is a Southeast Asian

Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO project, the

philippine public schools and teachers are involved.

The In-School Off-School Approach

The Department of Education and Culture, in its search for a

more effective and efficient delivery system of mass primary

education, tried out the In-School Off-School Approach (IS-OS).

This approach was inspired by Project IMPACT, and was launched in

school year 1974-7S and continues to this day. The IS-OSA is

therefore, addressed to the persistent problem of how reduce the

cost and at the same time raise the standard of primary

education.SS It was intended to maximize use of the classroom by

utilizing one for about eighty students, instead of the usual one

for thirty to forty. The teachers tap all available community

resources. It was made possible through a restructuring of class

organization, i.e. adopting an alternate in-school and off-school

scheme. It has been most effective in developing habits of

independent study, a trait critical in a life-long education

context. It was also tried as an alternative approach to the

delivery of secondary education.S6 This has allowed working boys

and girls to participate in secondary education by attending

part-time and working part-time. To complement their part-time

SSLiceria B. Soriano, Education." in Manuel, et. !_ducation, pp. 88-97; also, ~ilippine Schools, pp. 84-8S.

"Integrated Approach al, New Thrusts in Gellor, Educational

S6Educational Developments, p. 35.

to Primary Philippine Trends for

schooling, they are given self-learning kits for home study.

under this approach, a teacher can handle as many as eighty

pupils. One group of forty stays in school for one week taught by

the teacher while another group of forty is out of the school.

After the week the in-school pupils stay out of school, for one

week studying on their own through self-learning kits prepared by

the teachers. On the other hand, the other group of forty reports

to school and studies under the teacher. While off school, the

pupils can ask the help of elder brothers to clarify certain

learnings not quite clear to them. Parents or knowledgeable

persons in the community may be consulted.

Distance Study System

The Distance Study System was an innovation in the delivery

system of education. It sought to deliver development oriented

educational programs to people who had no access to formal

schools, colleges and universities using a multimedia approach,

i.e., radio, TV, self-learning modules, etc. As the name implies,

students got instructions in radio broadcasts supplemented by

printed materials.

Among the programs it had started to undertake was a course

in nutrition education which was part of a curricular program in

Master of Arts in Nonformal Education. It had also started a high

school equivalency program which enabled out-of-school youth and

adults to earn a high school diploma without having to sit in

traditional classrooms. This program was designed for those who

could not, for certain reasons, attend the formal school system.

This educational innovation is still being practiced.

The Year-Round School Calendar

The Year-round School Program plan has involved the full

utilization of the school plant which generally has been unused

during the summer vacation months.57 Under this program, the

school year is divided into four terms. Classes are held for

three terms on a staggered basis. Hence, one class may have its

vacation during the first term, while another class on the second

term, etc. The school building and facilities are utilized year-

round. This project sought to ease overcrowding by spreading the

use of the buildings through the year.

The Continuous Progression Scheme

The Continuous Progression Scheme (CPS) program was

implemented in 1971 and the adoption of the scheme by the Bureau

of Public Schools was announced in Memorandum No. 12, s. 1971.58

57 A very good example of this project is the Year-Round School Program utilized by the Baguio City High School, Baguio City, Philippines. The project was reported and discussed by Dr. Telesforo N. Boquiren, at the National Seminar on Educational Innovations for Development, sponsored by the NRDCTE, DEC, and UNESCO, on January 5-6, 1976, Manila, Philippines.

58Note that the program was implemented only in the public schools. Although the project was started pre-1972, it later operated with support from the DEC. The project is similar to the Continuous Progress Schools abroad, but according to Liceria B. Soriano, the Project Director, in the Philippine setting, "it is indigenously Filipino in the sense that it operates within the graded structure," in "Continuous Progression Scheme: A Systems View, 11 in Manuel, et. al, New Thrusts in Philippine Education, pp. 17-30; More detailed description of the program is found in Ibid; also Liceria B. Soriano, Continuous Progression in ~ilippine Schools, (Manila, Philippines: JMC Press, Inc., Quezon City, 1973). An innovative program, it has its implications for secondary education.

The scheme of continuous progression is a type of instructional

organization in which instruction starts where the children are

and gradually leads them to progress through a continuum of

le a r n i n g act i v i t i es . 5 9 St and a rd s of ope rat ions , s k i 11 s ,

understandings and attitudes at different stages of development

serve as guidelines in developing learning experiences. Pupils

are then moved from grade to grade according to their own paces,

picking up in the next grade where they left off in the previous

grades. Conceived on the continuous progress plan, the school

program is based on continuous growth and not on a specific time

to be promoted or retained; hence a different method of

evaluation and reporting pupil progress is necessitated.

These samples of educational innovation in some Philippine

schools have been improved in recent years. There are more

projects and programs undertaken by schools all over the country,

but for lack of reference material, the writer has not been able

to follow up on them. However, results of the survey described

earlier, are contained in the Report of National Seminar on

Educational Innovations for Development. A summary of the

report's major conclusions and generalizations on educational

innovation for development in the Philippines includes the

following areas: perspectives, community outreach, curriculum

development, educational planning and management.

59Gellor, Educational Trends, p. 83-84.

Educational Development Projects

New educational thrusts have been one of the results of the

issuance and implementation of P.D. 6-A, also known as the

Educational Development Decree of 1972. 60 The decree declared a

policy of government to ensure the maximum contribution of the

education system to the attainment of the national government

goals it had defined. Thus, a number of projects were designed to

achieve the national development goals and the objectives set for

education pursuant to provisions of P.D. 6-A. To implement these

projects, the Educational Development Implementation Task Force

or EDPITAF was created with the authority to utilized the

services or facilities of any office under the Department of

Education and Culture.

EDPITAF Projects

As mandated by the Education Decree (P.D. 6-a), development

projects and programs were implemented starting in 1973. Most of

these have been projects funded with assistance primarily from

the World Bank, as authorized under the decree, as well as from

national funds. As groups of projects, they have are often been

referred to as "EDPITAF projects." These projects come under a

series of loan packages and thus are known or labelled as the

"First World Bank Project," the "Second World Bank Project," etc.

Historically, these projects represented the first

centralized systematic effort to come to terms with perennial

Problems in Philippine education. Thus, one of the World Bank

60see appendix D.

projects sought to reinforce the science, mathematics, and

social-science components of education. At the same time, it

concerned itself with skills training, particularly in

agriculture -- still the livelihood of about fifty-eight out of

every hundred Filipinos.

To upgrade manpower skills training for agriculture,

agricultural colleges were have been built up as regional

schools, equipped with radio stations, barrio development schools

and sucial laboratories tor their rural education programs.

Other activities under the EDPITAF projects have included:

the setting up of ten regional manpower training centers to

provide a varied program of vocational and technical training

especially to out-of-school youths; upgrading of experimental

agricultural high schools; development of Technicians Institutes

to provide training for highly qualified technicians and

vocational-technical teachers. As if 1986, all of these EDPITAF

projects are still in existence.

The Textbook Project

Also sponsored by EDPITAF is the textbook project that was

implemented in 1973 and continuing in 1986. This project takes up

the problem of poor quality and insufficient number of textbooks

in Philippine schools. Financed by the World Bank, it was

conceived and was on stream, with a highly detailed logistical

Plan centralizing all textbook production operations. The major

objective of the project has been to achieve a two-textbooks for

each pupil ratio. Studies have shown that up to 1975, there was

only one textbook for every ten pupils in the public schools. 61

This may have added to the poor quality of education, "since the

availability of textbooks is know to be the most consistent

factor in pupil achievement."62

To make each book an instrument of change, experts have been

carefully selected to write them and a vast network of research

and development centers have collaborated on their production.

Moreover, textbooks have been written within the context of

Filipino and Asian experience. A component of the Textbook

Project has been the training of teachers in the use of the new

textbooks. Training was provided through the network of

curriculum development centers at the national level, the

different regional development centers attached to teacher

training institutions, and development high schools which provide

continuing training for teachers at the local level not only on

the use of textbooks but also in more effective teaching

strategies. The project is managed by the textbook board

secretariat, which is under the supervision of the MEC Textbook

Board, and staffed with full time professional and technical

personnel.

61This has been noted after for a World Bank education f_hilippines, p. 287.)

62 rbid.

a survey was done in preparation loan, (see World Bank, The

Conclusion

All of these efforts have done much to reform the

educational and social order. However,

problems, and the MEC is still often

there are still funding

staffed by unqualified

personnel. On the other hand, the reorganization of the MECs,

(then the Department of Education), helped improve matters

considerably. It may be recalled that before the reorganization,

decision-making rested with the secretary and the directors of

the three bureaus: the Bureau of Public Schools, the Bureau of

Private Schools and the Bureau of Vocational Education. With the

reorganization, the department has been decentralized and

decision making is now shared by the thirteen regional directors

who head their respective regional off ices. These directors

exercise line and command functions reporting directly to the

secretary of education and culture. This decentralized set-up

relieves the top department officials with routine operational

matters and gives them more time for policy making and higher

administrative issues. It also provides local officials (regional

and division) greater autonomy to make education more responsive

to local needs and conditions.

It is the ministry proper, through the office of the secre

tary, that has the overall direct line supervision of bureaus,

agencies, and regional offices. It is responsible for developing

and implementing programs on educational objectives and policies

set by the National Board of Education. This reorganization is

seen as the major legacy of the reforms of the seventies.

CHAPTER VI

AFTERMATH: EDUCATION FOR FILIPINOS: (1980-1986)

This chapter provides a profile of Philippine education from

19ao to 1986, as shaped and influenced by the plans and

developments since September 1972, when the New Society was

proclaimed with the declaration of martial law and until the

ouster of President Marcos in 1986, bringing in a new head of the

MECS. The design for the New Society emphasized national

development through educational reforms. The preceding chapters

examined projects and activities education designed to fulfill

its role and responsibility as a vehicle for national

development.

Academic Policy and Direction

The widespread concern and clamor of the 1960s and early

1970s for better quality in and relevance of education to the

needs of national development, resulted in the appointment of a

presidential commission to survey Philippine education. The

commission's report Education for National Development in 1970,

provided the basis of Presidential Decree No. 6-A the

Educational Development Decree of 1972. This decree substantially

incorporated the major proposals of the commission for reforming

and improving the system. According to former education Minister

Juan L. Manuel, "the rationale," for improving education, was not

Only the imparting of "desirable attitudes, knowledge and

skills," that would result in improved "labor productivity," and

would "also have salutary effects" on the general welfare of the

people. Hence, the present educational efforts have still been

guided by the provisions of the decree and would continue to

shape the direction of future trends in education. There were

three education ministers during the New Society period. From the

start of martial law and creation of the New Society, from 1972

to 1979, Juan L. Manuel was the appointed Minister of Education,

culture and Sports. He was followed by Onofre D. Corpuz in 1980-

1984. Jaime C. Laya served as minister from January 1984 to 28

February, with the appointment of Lourdes R. Quisumbing by the

Aquino government, after the ouster of President Marcos on 25

February 1986. Thus, it can be said that the management style of

the new education minister, Dr. Lourdes Quisumbing, may change

the direction and patterns in Philippine education. 1

In 1980, Minister Corpuz delineated the educational policy

concepts he considered as "priority areas 11 for the 1980s, in

these words:

I have herein cited the magnitude of our people's needs, due mostly to continued population growth; the rising costs of meeting these needs for an improved life and the crucial role of improved productivity through technology; the policy of equity with development; the reunification and positive nation-building phase that we are now entering. If we cannot meet our population's needs, if we fail to develop or apply the technology for improved productivity; if we cannot attain and sustain equity among our regions and if we cannot consolidate our nation, then our troubles during the 1980s will be even more serious (perhaps fatal to us as a nation), more serious than our crisis in the late 1960s and

. 1Juan L. Manuel, "Philippine Education in the 80's," Fookien ~es Philippines Yearbook 1979, p. 304.

early 1970s. 2

The critical factor in meeting these challenges was the

education system (see Appendix I). What was required of it? The

role of education in the 1980s gained a new dimension that as

the "knowledge industry," and hence, has deliberately identified

itself as a new sector in the production economy or system.

viewed in this manner, the education system in the 1980s con-

tinued its task in nation-building, guided by the goals and

objectives of the governing political power, which was still

under the so-called constitutional dictatorship of President

Marcos.

Basic Education

It has been previously noted that the quality of education,

especially in the elementary level, was so low that, al though

grade four pupils were supposed to have achieved functional

literacy, many pupils who completed grade four, had not yet

attained this goal. This problem still persists today, even after

educational reforms and innovations have been implemented, and

even when martial law has been. Current problems include: the

alleged fact that a significant number of teachers are mediocre,

hence mediocre pupils; dearth of standard classrooms, facilities

and equipment; lack of textbooks and other reading materials; too

many subjects which are a heavy burden to teachers and pupils;

2onofre D. Corpuz, "Priority Areas for Educational Policy-Making in the 1980s," The Fookien Times 1981-82 Philippines Yearbook, p. 224.

and inadequate evaluation of educational output.3

Strategies to meet the problems in elementary education were

proposed and developed. The Survey of Outcomes of Elementary

Education ( SOUTELE) conducted in 1975 provided the educational

1eaders with useful insights in developing programs and projects

addressed to the total improvement of elementary education.

A Ten-year Development Program ( 1981-1990) for elementary

education was launched and funded by the World Bank. Its

objectives derived from P.O. 6-A are first, to provide a broad

general education that will assist each individual in the

peculiar ecology of his society to develop his potential as a

human being; secondly, to increase the range and quality of

individual and group participation in the basic functions of

society; and thirdly, to acquire the essential foundation for his

development into a productive and versatile citizen. Under the

development program, the Program for Decentralized Educational

Development (PRODED) and Program for Comprehensive Elementary

Education Development (PROCEED) were developed to meet the need

to improve elementary education. 4

3Regildo F. Ramirez, "PRODED AND PROCEED: Their Implications to Elementary Education", The Philippine Journal of Education 61 (June 1982): 9. This was also noted in the keynote address of Jaime c. Laya, Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, "Education in Cr is is: Challenge and Response," in the 1985 Conference of School Superintendents, Teachers Camp, Baguio City, Philippines, 7-10 May 1985, in Education and Culture Journal 1 (Apr-Dec, 1985), pp.3-20.

4 Ibid.; also Minda C. Sutaria, "Thrusts Education in the Eighties," in Serafin V. C. Issues in Philippine Education (Phi Delta Philippines Chapter, 1982), pp. 41-44.

in Elementary Guingona, ed.,

Kappa: Manila,

Program for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED).

This was a four-year (1982-1985) development program, which was

part of the Ten-year (1981-1990) Development Program. Funded by

a one hundred million dollar World Bank loan, PRODED is addressed

to the objectives of: (1) reducing disparities between and within

regions in the delivery of services and allocation of resources;

( 2) raising the over-all quality and efficiency of elementary

education; and (3) improving the management capabilities of the

system, especially at the regional and sub-regional levels.

Specifically, it is intended to improve pupil achievement,

decrease dropout rates, raise retention and participation rates,

increase pupil-teacher ratio, and raise the efficiency of the

total education system. PRODED was designed to undertake several

reforms in the educational system including the development of:

physical facilities; curriculum; instructional materials; staff;

technical assistance and research and special studies.

The physical facilities component consists of the

construction of academic classrooms, multi-purpose workshops that

will house home economics and industrial arts classes, a Regional

Educational Learning Center (RELC) in each region; repair or

rehabilitation of dilapidated school buildings; provision of

school and off ice furniture; and provision of equipment. A new

guideline in the allocation of funds for school buildings had

been developed which gave priority to regions rated below averdge

in educational indicators in terms of achievement level,

Participation rate and survival rate.

The Regional Educational Learning Center (RELC) is the

regional base for staff, curriculum and materials development,

and research activities. This is also known as Tahanan ng Mga

Guro. This learning center is to be built in each of the ;;;...---

thirteen regions in the country to act as information center for

the region and to provide services and facilities (audio-visual,

library, etc.) to supplement and/or complement the resources of

the District Learning Resource Center (DLRC)) and other schools.

rt will also act as a social center and meeting place for

teachers and school officials of the region.

PRODED is also aimed at improving the school curriculum to

meet the growing and changing needs of society. The most

significant development has been the revision of the elementary

school curriculum. The New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC)

was first implemented in the school-year 1983-84, as per MEC

Order No. 6, s. 1982. The NESC orients elementary education to

national development and is addressed to civic, intellectual and

character development. It covers the general education of the

child as a human person, as a citizen and as a productive

agent of society. It also emphasizes intellectual growth through

which human/civic/economic/cultural development is enhanced. 5 ,6

5The New Elementary School Curriculum will be discussed in ~he following subsection. Full text of MECS Order No. 6, s. 1982 is found in the appendix J, under MECS Memorandum.

6PRODED PRIMER: A PRODED-ERP publication for the Bureau of ~ementary Education, MECS 1983; also, Regildo F. Ramirez, 'Proded and Proceed; Their Implications to Elementary Education," ~Philippine Journal of Education 1 (June 1982): p-10. .

The instructional materials component consists of reprinting

the revised editions of basic textbooks; development and

production of quality and relevant basic textbooks to support the

new elementary school curriculum; and the development and

production of other instructional materials such as supplementary

materials, reference books, charts, flash cards, modules, skill

books, self-learning kits, etc. in the elementary level.

The Educational Reorientation Program (ERP) is the staff

development component of PRODED. Among the objectives of ERP are:

( 1) to infuse all PRODED-involved staff, especially the public

elementary school teachers, with a shared system of values and

beliefs which they will in turn inculcate in their pupils; and

(2) to build competencies in the teachers and their supervisors

for developing more effective strategies and activities for

enhancing learning and to MEC managers and administrators for

providing the needed leadership in educational project

development, implementation and evaluation, and more

decentralized educational administration. The ERP will address

the reorientation and capability development of MEC personnel.

The technical assistance component of PRODED is aimed at

strengthening the competencies of teachers as well as the

technical capabilities of the top level management. The areas

open for training are: educational planning and management;

educational research and development; curriculum and

instructional materials development; development education;

Project management; management of educational innovations; data

management; statistical methods and techniques; and computer

programming. Certain fields have been identified that would need

the services of consultants and experts who shall have been

trained under this activity of PRODED. 7 The special studies

component conducts research needed to provide an empirical basis

for tne instructional improvement in elementary education and in

all other levels of education. It also covers special studies

which will be needed in the implementation of the various

activities of PRODED. Research participants and proposals will

come from regional or division offices, private and public

educational institutions, research centers, individuals doing

graduate work, and private persons interested in research.

In a conference held last May 1985 at Teachers' Camp, Baguio

City for school superintendents, and sponsored by the MEC, a

plenary paper entitled "PRODED: In Retrospect; Prospects," was

presented where project PRODED was assessed for its performance

at the end of its fourth year in operation. It can be said that

based on performance indicators, i.e. terminal outcomes, the

achievements of elementary education have at least improved

compared to past national achievement, especially in grade one.

Results of two national achievement tests given in 1985 reveal

that student performance since 1983 may reflect better teaching

outcomes and signal a steady movement towards the target set for

the attainment of quality elementary education as recommended by

7PRODED Primer.

pCSPE and SOUTELE. 8 Some other performance indicators such as

intermediate outputs also show that PRODED had some gains in some

activities. Academic classrooms and multi-purpose buildings were

said to have been constructed, dilapidated existing school

buildings were lined up for repair/and/or rehabilitation. The

paper presented by Sutaria did not, however, spell out the

weaknesses and failures of PRODED. This task was assigned to a

project Technical Staff to undertake the printing of summaries of

researches - findings and recommendations relevant to the thrusts

of PRODED, which will serve as a basis for the renewal of

programs and practices in elementary education especially under

the new administration of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Program for Comprehensive Elementary Education (PROCEED).

This program, provided for aspects of elementary education which

PRODED did not include. It has nine components: mission and

values, curriculum development, teacher development and welfare,

facilities development, instructional materials development,

management, financing, and school-based health education and pre-

elementary education. PROCEED will be the focal point for the

planning and implementation of educational sub-projects aimed at

meeting both national and regional needs through a tridimensional

approach: country-specific, region-based and learning area-

8Minda C. Su tar ia, "PRODED: In Retrospect; Prospects." A Paper presented at the 1985 Conference of School Superintendents, Teachers Camp, Baguio City (Philippines), 7-10 May 1985; ~ucation and Culture Journal (April-December 1985): 27-38.

For sample programs and activities and news about the PRODED, see its official quarterly newsletter, PRODED News.

9 related.

The New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC). Under PROCEED,

The New Elementary School Curriculum was finally developed in

oecember 1981. Implementation of the NESC began in the school

year 1983-84 as provided for by MEC Order No. 6. s. 1982. 10

Salient features. Education at the elementary level is the

major program for the delivery of mass and universal education to

the Fi 1 ipinos. "It is the society's main avenue for the

development of civic and social values, particularly a sense of

humanity and nationhood." The New Elementary School Curriculum

(NESC) orients elementary education to national development

requirements as recommended by the PCSPE, SOUTELE and EEP for

changes and reforms in the curriculum. It is outcome rather than

subject-oriented, for it is basically addressed to civic,

intellectual and character development. Its scope covers the

general education of the child -- as a human person, as a citizen

and as a productive agent. Its thrust is intellectual growth,

through which a human/civic/economic/cultural-development is

enhanced. It has the following new features: fewer learning areas

9 Pablo E. Natividad, "Proposed Elementary Education Curriculum" The Philippine Journal of Education 61 (June 1982) 30; also Sutaria, "Elementary Education in the Eighties;" also Jaime c. Laya, Moving Forward in Education: 1985, A supplement to the Philippine Education Indicators 1965-1985 (Manila, Philippines: MECS, 1985).

10see appendix J. The MECS Memorandum includes MECS Orders No. 6, s. 1982, which is the order to implement the New Elementary School Curriculum, and No. 19, s. 1983, the .order Which gives a description of the curriculum.

with emphasis on mastery learning; more time allotment for the

development of basic skills; greater emphasis on the development

of intellectual skills; focus on the goal of developing a sense

of nationhood; integration of health values development into the

whole curriculum; and the systematic development of competencies

and values for social living.11

The objectives of elementary education are based on the

provisions of Article XV, Section 4 of the 1973 Constitution, the

national development goals and the national educational aims set

by P. D. 6-A in 1972. The mission of elementary education is to

enable every citizen to acquire basic preparation that will make

him/her an enlightened, disciplined, nationalistic, self-reliant,

God-loving, creative, versatile, and productive citizen in a

national community. 12 It emphasizes the development of a sense of

humanism and nationalism through the infusion of a shared system

of beliefs and the acquisition of basic competencies in communi-

cation arts (English and Pilipino) and numeracy, which may be

simply expressed as the basics of elementary education. 13

11The New Elementary School Curriculum, (Inclosure No. 1 to MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982), p.3; also, "The New Elementary School Curriculum," Educator's Journal 2 (July 1982): pp. 2-7; also, Otto J. Shipla, "Focus on Southeast Asia: 'Education on the Move'," Contemporary Education 56 (Winter 1985): 76.

12objectives (Inclosure No. 2, to MEC Order No. 6. s. 1982), p. 4.

13The full text of Article XV, Sec. 4 of 1973 Constitution states that, "All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological and vocational efficiency." See Objectives

The objectives of elementary education, adopted from the

1970 Revised Elementary Education Program are still relevant

today: "elementary education shall aim to develop the spiritual,

moral, mental and physical capabilities of the child, provide him

with experiences in the democratic way of life, and inculcate

ideas and attitudes necessary for enlightened, patriotic, upright

and useful citizenship." Table VI shows the revised Philippine

elementary program followed for Grades one to four, which started

in the school year 1970-1971 and continued on until the new

curriclum was adopted. Aside from these objectives, the new

curriculum also seeks to accomplish the objectives of Philippine

elementary education as found in the Education Act of 1982 . 14

Thus, the NESC is supposedly outcome rather than subject-

oriented. It focuses on learnings that contribute to 4-H

development.

The new elementary school curriculum consists of three sub-

cycles: the foundation sub-cycle for grades one and two; the

practice and reinforcement with extension subcycles for grades

three and four; and the practice, reinforcement and application

with extension subcycles for grades five and six. Table VII

gives a summary of the learning areas under the new curriculum.

(Inclosure No. 2, to MEC Order No. 6. s. 1982), p. 4; also see "Values and Basic Skills Development Stress in the New Curriculum" Educators' Journal, 2 (June 1982) : 1-3.

14 Ibid., p. 5.

TABLE VI

Revised Philippine Elementary Program for Grades I-VI: 1970-7115

-------------------------------------------------------------Time Allotment (Minutes Daily)

Subjects I II III IV V-VI

-------------------------------------------------------------Character Education 20 20 20 20 20

Language Arts 140 140 120 120 120

Vernacular (40) ( 40)

Filipino (60) ( 60) (60) ( 60) 40

English ( 40) (40) (60) (60) 80

Social Studies 30 30 30 40 40

Elem. Mathematics 30 30 30 30 40

Health and Science 30 30 30 30 40

Music and Arts 30 30 30 30 30

Work Education 40 60 80

Physical Education 20 20 20 30 40

----------------------------------------------------------------Totals 300 300 320 360 410 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Source: Division of Educational Planning, Department of Education, Manila, Philippine, 1969.

15until June 1983, the Philippine education program followed this curriculum.

TABLE VII

THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM (Effective June 1983)

-----------------------------------------------------------------Grades I-II

(4 units} Grades III

(6 units} Grades IV

(7 units} Grade V-VI

(7units} ---------------------------------------------------------------Language (Filipino/

English}

Mathematics

Civics and Culture

Language (Filipino/

English}

Mathematics

Civics and Culture

(History/ Geography Work Ethics)

Science & Health

Arts & F.E.

Language (Filipino/

(English)

Mathematics

History/ Geography/

Civics

Science & Health

Arts & F.E.

Work & Livelihood skills

Source: Philippine Journal of Education, 41 June 1982.

Language (Filipino/

(English)

Mathematics

History Geography/

Civics

Science & Health

Arts & P.E.

Work & Livelihood skills

These nine learning areas which include: character building

activities; Filipino; English; mathematics; civics and culture;

history /geography /civics; science and heal th; arts and physical

education; and home economics and livelihood education.

In the school year 1985-86, the NESC is implemented in grade

five on a pilot field, and nationally in school year 1987-88. 16

16Philippine Journal of Education, 1 (June 1982).

other Development plans in Education --Toward the middle of 1985, a conference was held, for the

officials running the public elementary and secondary schools and

those from higher institutions of learning which were directly

under the Ministry, to identify and examine problems that had

accumulated since 1981, when martial law was lifted, and to seek

soiutions to those problems as well as to agree on implementing

strategies. The problems, in summary are noted in the keynote

address of Minister Jaime C. Laya, delivered during the confer-

ence (see Appendix K) .17 Then, toward the end of his term,

Minister Laya, gave a year-end report, which may have included

some significant gains in education for the last twenty years

( 1965-1985). However, Laya still noted the existence of major

problems challenging the education system, which inevitably,

would be passed on to the next minister (see Appendix L). In an

enclosure to the report, La ya, however, tried to suggest some

future policies and directions of education (see Appendix M).

Following are some of the educational developments geared toward

improving the quality of education, and launched in the mid

1980s.

The Secondary Education Development Program. In 1983, a

review and assessment of the secondary education system was made

to identify the areas of development and the extent to which

development assistance was needed in the identified areas. The

17It is interesting to note that these problems identified by the Minister are the same problems that have plagued the education system even before the declaration of martial law.

study determined the system's capability to deliver the services

required of it as a base line for development, and thus

established the premises for a development program. Policy

research and recommendations defined the following key issues as

important: ( 1) secondary education to be available to all young

Filipinos; (2) funding of secondary education; (3) nature of

secondary education; (4) preparation of teachers; (5) barangay

(barrio) high schools; ( 6) supervision; ( 7) alternative deli very

systems; and ( 8) textbooks for all. Some of these issues are

being resolved but others still need further studies and/or new

policies. 18 One solution was the Secondary Education Develop-

ment Program (SEDP) designed in 1984. It is built upon four major

premises: (1) that PRODED will bring about a higher quality and

greater number of student inputs into the secondary education

system; ( 2) that new demands will continue to be made on the

system by the escalating competitiveness of a growing technologi-

cal society; ( 3) that unless improved greatly, the system would

not be able to cope with the demands being placed on it; and (4)

that the present performance of secondary education leaves much

to be said.19 The SEDP, therefore, builds on the expected

outcomes of the New Elementary School Curriculum, and aims at

continuity in the general education development of the learner.

18rbid., pp.42-46.

19 Esperanza A. Gonzalez, "The Secondary Education Development Program," A plenary paper read at the Conference of Schools Superintendents held at the Teachers Camp, Baguio City, on 7-10 May 1985, in Education and Culture Journal, 1 (Apr-Dec, 1985): 39-47.

The plan period covers ten years, 1983-1994, and will be

implemented in two stages: preparation stage (1983-1988) and the

actual implementation (1989-1994).

Future directions of Philippine education needs substantive

inputs in curriculum. These were discussed in the 1985

conference, where recommendations from group sessions were

gathered which have implications for policy recommendations to

meet the major concerns of education, and ultimately improve the

quality of Philippine education. The following tables give

samples of the group recommendations. Table VIII, for example,

gives an outline of the possible courses of action that could be

taken for improving the quality of elementary education along the

area of rewriting Philippine history. On this same area,

recommendations for secondary education are shown in Table IX.

Recommendations for improvements in higher education are:

1. . •. need for a periodic re-examination and evaluation of the textbooks, resource materials and strategies .•

2. Faculty development programs to update teachers' knowledge, attitudes and practices funding should be provided for these programs.

3. Linkages between and among higher education ins ti tut ions, professional educational associations, the [MECS] and the specialized agencies will bring about a dynamic inter-change of professional and technological information . . .

4. Social science programs ... should be examined in the light of new perspectives and visions of the demands of society and of prevailing socioeconomic conditions, as well a~ of the emerging value systems and moral values. O

20 zenaida Villaescusa, "Round Table Discussions on Quality Education: Implications for Higher Education," in Education and ~lture Journal, pp. 116-121.

RBDOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

R ECO MM ENDA TIO NS

A. Social Studies Education

1. Establish a common core of values.

2. Teach about great men and women; give attention to current even ts in social studies/science classes.

WHAT IS BEING DONE

1.1. Values of humanism, Fillpinism and other relevant values are being woven into the NESC.

1.2. Values of national identity and pride, national unity and national loyalty are being made to serve as a unifying thread in siblka at kultura.

2.1. The study of great men and women, both living and dead, is now included in the content of the NESC learning areas.

2.2. Current events are being discussed during the sharing period.

3. Review the use of the. 3.1. The conceptual approach Is being used as a method of organizing concepts in the social studies curriculum. (There are many teaching strategies suggested in the teachers' manuals.)

conceptual approach in social studies. Allow teachers to use other teaching approaches/strategies.

4. Assess the quality of education in the Philippines.

4.1. The BEE is administering annual achievement tests for the implementation of the NESC.

4.2. Th~ regions have organ· ized regional evaluation committees which

WHAT CAN SrILL BE DONE

1.1. The strengthening of values development through examples.

2.1. The compilation of literature about great Filipino men and women and dissemination of the literature 11

reference material 2.2. Revival of the distribu·

tion of the Sc/Jool News Review and the giving of tests on its contents.

3.1. Encouragement of teachers to try out/ utilize strategies other than the problem solving method.

4.1. Use of the results of tests for the improvement of instruction.

Source: EDUCATION AND CULTURE JOURNAL,

pp. 104 - 105

RECOMMENDATIONS

S. Private publishers • should be encouraged to participate in developing textbooks.

6. Implementation of the bilingual policy should be closely supervised.

B. Science and Technology

1. Promotio11 of the "science for all" program.

2. Improve instructional/ supervisory /adminittrative competence in science education.

TABLE VIII

WHAT IS BEING DONE

develop and administer regional/division teats ..

S.1. Private publishers are being invited to participate in the development of textbooks.

S.2. Textbook writing contests for teachers have been launched.

6.1. Implementation of the of the policy is being monitored.

2.1. Training of teachers and school officials is ongoing.

2.2. Short-term courses in science teaching/ supervision ue being offered.

WHAT CAN STILL BE DONE

S.l. Giving of better incentives to textbook writers.

S.2. Greater involvement of the BEE in the develop· ment and evaluation of textbooks.

S.3. The provision by BEE of technical assistance in the development of textbooks.

6.1. Stricter adherence to the policy, especially the use of Pilipin o.

1.1. Inclusion in thi: "science for all" program of technology and processes which are relevant to the life and and environment of children.

1.2. Focus on attitudes and values that promote productivity.

1.3. Encouragement of computer awareness at the elementary level.

2.1. The holding of more study sessions/LAC sessions on science

· teaching/ supervision. 2.2. The giving of more slots

for fellowships/scholar· ships in science educa· tion.

POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

Policy intervention Program measures Action ste11s Policy i11 t erve11 t io11 Program measures Action steps A. Curriculum writers Incentive structure Proper scq11encing scholarship pro- oriented instruction.

to draw up the con- for more Filipinos of history, geog- grams. tent of textbooks in to write history raphy and n:u-

Provide a higher Develop models of Tapping of prof es-secondary schools books which are nomics to i111bue from history books stimulating and rel- students with a salary scale allocation/utili- sional groups to

written by Filipinos. evant to the life of strong sense of for science zation. contribute to the

the students. Filipino identity. teachers. improvement of science teaching.

Examine the curric- Teaching of ethics Improve teacher Improve adminis- Provision of in-ulum for enrichment at the secondary training institutions. trative and super- service education or revision. level. Creation of Turn the l'NC into visory support. activities.

committees lo study a Philippine Edu-the integration of cation Acade111y various c111l ural that is fully sub-groups into I he sidized by the national heritage. government.

B. Affirm science Promote a "science Reorientation of c. Create a hureau of Maximize data use Use of PEPT for objectives in for all" program that science ed11cation to educational test- at all levels to im- placement and for secondary edu- would introduce 111ake it responsive ing as a clearing prove the quality of student acceleration. cation. technology which is to local needs. house for test education.

relevant to the stu- services. Preparation of self-

dents' environment. learning modules so that students need

Aim at computer Drawing upofeval- no longer attend literacy at the uation measures for school. secondary level. science literacy.

Include BSE Provide facilities Gre;itcr focus on Source 1 filiuca tion and Culture Journal,

major in physics or for group-based attitudes and values pp. 114-115. chemistry as a science activity and that pro111ote pro-priority course in student activity- ductivity. ....

'° I\)

TABLE IX

New Minister of Education in Aquino Cabinet, Dr. Lourdes R. -Quisumbing takes over - Plans and Prospects -

On 3 March 1986, Dr. Lourdes R. Quisumbing was appointed as

.Minister of Education, Culture and Sports under the new

government of President Corazon Aquino. The minister's rich

background of work experience with private education makes her no

novice or "stranger to such er i ti cal secular concerns as wages

and other labor issues, economic survival, and other gut issues

that are the causes of mass actions among teachers, laborers and

other working groups." Her activities as an educational leader

show her concern for quality education, especially in higher

education, through voluntary accreditation. 21

Within a year of her administration, Quisumbing, has made

some significant progress, especially in terms of education

financing. Operating on a Pl28. 8 billion budget for 1987, the

Philippine government has given education "the biggest chunk of

the pie with a total of about [fifteen] billion [pesos]," the

first time in twenty years that education was given the biggest

share of the productive budget. 22

According to a recent Ministry of Education, Culture and

Sports publication in March 1986, under Quisumbing, new

21 Education and Culture Journal, 3 (Jan - Mar, 1986): ii. Dr. Quisumbing is the first woman president of the

Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU), the oldest and biggest accrediting body in the Philippines.

2211 Pl28.8-B: RP budget for 1987," Free Press Chicago, 16-31 Dec . 19 8 6 p . l.

directions for education are taking shape.

One of the ministry' thrusts under Dr. Quisumbing is values formation. For students, she has prescribed "guided freedom." She is for instilling in them strong personal convictions of right and wrong. "If students have internalized moral values, there is no need for the imposition of external sanctions," she maintains.

Believing that "revolution of the mind and heart" is possible in the ministry, Dr. Quisumbing said that integrity, competence and efficiency will be emphasized by her administration. The development of moral values will be the anchor of education, in addition to knowledge and skills and the development of the whole individual.

The new minister credits a democratic outlook for her personal and professional success. She easily inspires participation rather than passivity. Her management style utilizes maximum consultation done in a "spirit of truth, sincerity and charity. 11

Dr. Quisumbing is determined to minimize political influences in the system. Promotions will be very well considered; they will not be done as a matter of course because the staff has to be continuously improved.

There will be a maximum delegation of authority, accompanied by assumption of full responsibility by the officers to whom the authority has been delegated.

In line with President Aquino's injunction that all officials observe simplicity in their lifestyle and that all must lead by example, she cautioned against fanfare in field visits by MECS officials. There should instead be "creative simplicity. 11

In her first conference with the central office staff and the press, the minister gave the assurance that there was no reason for anyone to feel insecure. 11 we need every good heart and good mind in this ministry, 11 she declared. She recognizes that the ministry is a vital force in bringing about a just and peaceful society, through educating the country's most precious assets, the young. She considers as the first thrust of her administration the helping of the vast but less privileged public school sector.

Such human and benevolent plans and intentions . . contribute to the fostering of a freer and more

relaxed atmosphere in the MECS. . gain for her the love, respect, trust and confidence of the ministry officials and the rank and file, thus inspiring them to greater effort in th1 service of education under the new government 3

23 Ib'd · · · l ., 111.

Future directions of educational policy and decision-making

under the new government will also be dictated by the provisions

of the new 1986 constitution, which was approved on 2 February

1987. Article XIV of the new constitution is solely devoted to

the provisions for education, science and technology, arts,

culture, and sports (see Appendix N).

commentary

While it can be gleaned and concluded from the foregoing

chapters that a number of educational policies, programs and

projects have been recommended, introduced and implemented to

bring about quality education for national development, there is

much more to be said and done.

In the Philippines the relationship between education and

economic development has been a paradox. 24 Contrary to the

general rule and the situation in other countries that education

is serving as an effective instrument for economic development,

the Philippine educational system, although considered advanced

in certain ways, does not seem to be crucially contributing to

economic progress. On the basis of quantitative educational

indicators, the Philippines ranks among the advanced or sem

advanced countries of the world. For example, in terms of the

ratio of college and university enrollment to total population,

the Philippines ranks second highest in the world, to the United

States; in terms of economic development as measured by GNP, the

24Tachau, The Developing Nations, p. 80.

Philippines is classified among the lowest in the world.25

The Philippine case presents a unique case which only upsets

the generalization that the level of human resources development

is positively correlated with economic growth. It seems

inescapable to conclude that while the Philippine educational

system is ranked among the more advanced in terms of quantitative

products, it has not served as an effective instrument for

economic growth. Thus, the Philippine educational system

continues to be er i ticized. It has been pointed out that the

educational system has failed in three ways; namely (1) to bring

about a national condition of universal literacy; (2) to change

significantly many prevailing social values and patterns that are

a deterrent to social innovations; and (3) to reorient the warped

traditional attitudes of many Filipino parents toward education.

The principal causes of this failure are well known by Philippine

education experts, and their solutions identified often in

conferences of these same leaders and experts, but not enough

progress has been attained in the employment of appropriate

measures to liquidate the problem. For one thing, it must be

stressed that the matter is a joint responsibility of the

government, the parents, the persons and families concerned, in

short the Philippine society. The reasons for the failure,

25vi taliano Bernardino, "The Philippines: An Economic and Educational Paradox," in Vitaliano Bernardino, Perspectives in !!t~lippine Education: A Collection of Speeches and Unpublished !!.r:tings of Vitaliano Bernardino (Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines: Philippine Public School Teachers Association, Inc,., 1982), p. 88; also World Bank, The Philippines: Priorities ~ Prospects for Development.

therefore, strike back at the shortcomings of the Philippine

educational system.

The weaknesses of the educational system have usually been

blamed on economic conditions. However, educators are hesitant to

accept the fact that education has been intruded by politics with

its professed goals of achieving national unity and development.

It is politics that defeats these very same goals. The policies

and programs in education, especially during and after the New

society period, as admitted by Minister Laya, toward the end of

his term, "have been in accord with the platform of the kilusang

Bagong Lipunan (KBL) [the ruling political party] and enunciated

by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. " 26 This typifies the close

relationship between politics and education which in many

instances have been the cause for the failure to achieve set

educational goals. The school system's role, in essence, is seen

as a political stabilizer. It was better to produce unemployable

college graduates, compared to the dangerous droves of idle

youths who were considered hazards for political leadership. The

educational system introduced well-meant reforms and innovations,

but the attainment of these was easier said than done. As long as

there were persons occupying various positions in the ministry,

who were backed up by politicians of the New Society period,

there was always resistance. In the building of a political

institution, the curriculum was used to bring about desired

26 Jaime c. Laya, "Moving Forward in Education: 1985," ~cation and Culture Journal, 3 (Jan-March 1986): 80.

consciousness. As long as the so-called government thrust

courses, such as those dealing with tax consciousness,

cooperative education, population education, etc., are

understood by teachers and students, it would only alienate them

from government priorities. For instance, the Filipino student

cannot. understand why they are required to learn two Filipino

language subjects, if they were to develop a Filipino identity!

During the martial law period, social engineering was

attempted through education. What purpose was the Citizens Army

Training for boys and girls in high school, for instance, or the

activities under the so-called Youth Countryside Development

program? Why did the plans and policies in education need to be

based on the platform of the ruling party? Why was the military

involved in implementing educational policies? These questions

can only have one answer: to indoctrinate the pupils with the

ideology of the regime -- of President Marcos.

The programs and activites for educational reforms and

innovation demanded financing, hence the enormous World Bank

loans procured by the government. (There are particular

provisions of Presidential Decree 6-A, for instance, that states

who, and how should loans be procured). However, some projects

and programs have failed because the funds were diverted to

unknown projects. If the educational system continues to be

influenced by politics, the whole process of socialization will

be eroded. And because these values are passed on from one

9eneration to another, the sad state of education will inevitably

take its toll on development efforts in all other aspects of

society. Then, in the next decade, instead of improving what has

been started, or solving the problems in education, efforts will

then be devoted, not to solve the problems of education, but to

"de-Marcosify" the education system.

To reiterate what has been briefly said, the writer would

like to quote the thoughts shared by a parent, who was invited by

Minister Quisumbing to speak in the 1986 Educators Congress, held

at the Teachers Camp, Baguio City, 25-30 May 1986. Rafael

Evangelista spoke on "Education in the New Government -- What it

should be: A View of a Parent." He gave valuable suggestions for

educational possibilities for consideration under the new

government, which also sums up what education for the Filipino

youth was under the New Society regime.

Let the state and the school administrators set up a consultative process whereby the views of all those concerned with education, specially the parents, can be heard. In some jurisdictions, school boards are institutionalized. Perhaps we can consider the statutory establishment of school boards in which government, school administrators, teachers and parents are involved.

Let us prohibit the teaching of socio-political ideologies as a requirement of general study. The National Service Law sought to compel our children to learn the ideology of Marcos -- the so-called Filipino ideology. If the move of the Marcos government had succeeded, what then would have prevented President Aquino from requiring in turn that our children learn the PDP-Laban or UNIDO ideology? What is to stop my old classmate, Joma Sison, from then demanding that our children learn the gospel according to Karl Marx? As a specialized area of learning in college or graduate school, I say yes to the study of socio-political ideologies. As a subject to be taught to all children in grade school and high school, I say no.

The National Service Law would have required the teaching of subjects on civic welfare and law enforcement according to definitions and policy guidelines laid down by the Government. I say, let us guard against all education schemes which would allow Government to undermine the family as the basic social institution. If the State is permitted, among others, the sole prerogative of dictating how children should respect their elders, brush their teeth, or even how children should cross the streets, which arguably could have been case under the National Service Law, then the family and parents would have ceased to be relevant.

I ask that we should forever be vigilant not only against any schemes that would overtly militarize our schools, but also against any schemes that would permit, intentionally or otherwise, the militarization of the educational system. The argument against the National Service Law was not so much that there was an intent by the lawmakers to militarize our schools, but that the NSL made such a militarization possible.

I ask that the Government help rationalize the costs of education . . .

I ask the teachers to remember that we send our children to school to ask more than anything else, the question "Why?", and where the answer to that question is unclear or wrong, to disagree. After all, the question "Why?" and disagreement, more than agreement, are the cornerstones of the learning process. Indeed, training the youth to ask why may be the one final safeguard against a repetition of the experience of the past (twenty] years. The noted psychologist, Fr. Tanseco, once wrote on one reason why it was possible to set up a dictatorship in the Philippines. He stated that oftentimes we train the children, at home and at school, never to ask why or to disagree for to do so would epitomize disrespect for elders or the authority figure. When Ferdinand E. Marcos, the supreme authority figure, came along to set up his government of Constitutional authoritarianism, a majority of the population had been sufficiently brainwashed not to ask "Why? II 2"/

27Part of speech delivered by Rafael E. Evangelista, "Education in the New Government -- What it should be: A View of a.Parent," during the 25-30 May 1986 Educators Congress, Baguio C1ty. (Copy of speech is courtesy of Judge Fe Corazon Baluga, who also spoke on the same topic in a teachers' conference, Lagawe, Ifugao, Province.

On this note, the least that one can muster is that a good

educational system is vital for the future of the country.

Reforms have been implemented, especially during the New Society

period, to solve the problems of the educational system. However,

in so doing, the seeds of future educational disaster have

already been planted. If these seeds are still nurtured and

tended, will there be good fruit to harvest?

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cultural Affairs Office of the American Embassy. Youth's Positive Role in National Development. Manila: American Embassy, 1960.

Elevazo, Aurelio O. Educational Planning in the Philippines. Manila: Division of Educational Planning, Department of Education, 1969.

General Policies on Education 1973 and 1974. National Board of Education. Manila, Philippines, 1975.

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~~-· The Development of the Philippine Constitution, 1973 Constitution. 1974.

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Philippines, Ministry of Education and Culture. Accomplishments in Education in Southern Philippines, March 1977 - March 1980, by Victoria c. Urian. Manila: Republic of the Philippines, Ministry of Education and Culture, 1981 •

• Nesc Primer. Educational Reorientation Program. -• Report on Educational Development of the Seventies 1970-

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Philippines, Ministry of Education and Culture, Planning and Programming Division. Ten-Year Educational Development Plan, 1978-1987. Manila: Planning and Programming Division, 1979.

presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education. Education for National Development: New Patterns, New Directions. Manila: PCSPE, 1970.

PRODED NEWS. Official Publication of PRODED-PTS 3 January-March 1985 .

. 3 July - September 1985. ---PRODED PRIMER. A PRODED-ERP Publication for the Bureau of Elemen

tary Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports, 1983.

Quiason, Serafin D. "The Cultural Agencies under the MECS." In Education Culture Journal, MECS.

Quirino Jr., Demetr io. "Population Quality." In The Development of the Philippine Constitution. National Media Production Center, 1974.

Republic of the Philippines. 1978 Election Code.

Republic of the Philippines. Four-Year Development Plan, fy 1974-1977. Manila, 1973.

Sutaria, Minda C. "PRODED: In Retrospect; Prospects." In Educa-tion and Cul tu re Journal. April December 1985. A MECS Publication.

U. s., Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Background Notes. "Philippines." August, 1986.

Villaescusa, Zenaida. "Round Table Discussion on Quality Education: Implications for Higher Education." In Education and Culture Journal. A MECS Publication.

~AP Handbook. National Media Production Center, Manila, 1977.

Articles/Newspapers/Periodicals. -Alba, Manuel S. "Youth: The New Dimension in Filipino Values."

Participant Journal II 3, 1971.

~g Pilipinas, Your Tourist Magazine 1 (3Q 1983).

Bulletin Today. "Schools Open Monday with 13-M Students." Re-~ printed in the Association of Catholic Universities of the

Philippines (ACUP) Newsletter (June 1981).

Coloma, Teresita M. "The Teacher in a Changing Philippine Society." Philippine Journal of Education. 64 (1985): 198.

El-Shibiny, M. "Trends in the Ruralization of Primary School Curriculum." Trends in Teacher Education 12 (October 1970). Asian Institute for Teacher Education, University of the Philippines.

Franco, Ernesto. "Secondary Sector Study Findings." Philippine Journal of Education. 64 (October 1985).

"Humanizing and Democratizing Philippine Rules and Regulations." Modern Teacher 33 (1985): 253.

Larkin, John A. "Philippine History Revisited: Perspective." American Historical Review. 595 - 628.

A Socio-economic 87 (June 1982):

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Navarro, Josefina R. "Curriculum Redirection." MPSTA Journal (August 1973).

"Reading in the Work-Oriented Curriculum. 11 MPSTA Journal (August) 1973)

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Philippine Journal of Education. 45 (October 1985).

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Orata, Pedro T. "Beyond Subjects and National Boundaries: Education for Living in a World Community. 11 Modern Teacher. 33 ( 1985): 189-192.

"Pl28.8-B: RP Budget for 1987." Free Press Chicago, 16, 31 December 1986.

Reporter. 19, 16 September 1983. p. 9.

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Shipla, Otto J. "Focus on Southeast Asia: Education on the Move." Contemporary Education 56 (Winter 1985.)

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"The Philippine Textbook Project." Prospects: Quarterly Review of Education 13 (November 1983): 351-59.

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"Values and Basic Skills Development Stress in the New Curriculum." Educators' Journal 2 (June 1982).

Vicencio, Evelina M. "Guidelines for Curriculum Revision." Modern Teacher 33 (1985): 327-328.

Proclamations/Orders/Statutes

Deparlment [of Education] Order No. 42, s. 1972.

Department [of Education] Order No. 6, s. 1973.

Department [of Education] Order No. 20, s. 1973, Enclosure).

Education Act of 1982.

Executive Order No. 202.

MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982 (with inclosures).

Memorandum No. 28, s. 1973.

Philippines. 1935 Constitution, art II, sec. 4.

Philippines. 1935 Constitution, art. VII, sec. 10.

Philippines. 1935 Constitution, art XIV, 3-5.

Philippines. 1973 Constitution, art. II, sec. 4-7.

Philippines. 1973 Constitution, art. v, sec. 1-3.

Philippines. 1973 Constitution, art. IX, sec. 12.

Philippines. 1973 Constitution, art xv, sec. 3, 8-13.

Philippines. 1973 Constitution, art. XVII, sec. 3.

Philippines. 1986 Constitution, art. XIV.

Presidential Proclamation No. 1.

Presidential Proclamation No. 6-A.

Proceedings/Reports -- Published and Unpublished

Educational Innovations for Development: Perspectives, Community Outreach, Curriculum Planning and Management, Report of National Seminar on Educational Innovation for Development, 5 -6 January 1976. Manila, Philippines: National Research and Development Center for Teacher Education, 1976.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Philippines: Priorities and Prospects for Development: Report of a Mission sent to the Philippines by the World Bank. J. Cheetham, Chief of Mission. Washington: World Bank 1976.

Philippine Rural Education: An Anthropological Perspective, by - Douglas E. Foley. Center for Sou th east Asian Studies,

Northern Illinois University, 1976. Special Report Number 13.

"Role of Universities in National Development Planning in Southeast Asia." Edited by Yip Yat Hoong. In Proceedings of the Workshop held in Singapore 26 29 July 1971. Regional Institute of Higher Education and Development. Singapore, September 1971.

Theses and Other Papers

Acierto, Maria Guillen. "American Influence in Shaping Philippine Secondary Education: An Historical Perspective 1898-1978. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Loyola University of Chicago, 1980.

Evangelista, Rafael E. "Education in the New Government -- What It Should Be: A View of a Parent." Speech delivered at the 1986 Educators Congress, Baguio City. (Mimeographed.)

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"Human Resources Development and Economic Growth in Developing Countries: A Simultaneous Model." Prepared by David Wheeler. World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 407.

King, Timothy, ed. "Education and Income." World Bank Working Paper No. 402 July 1980.

Lopez, Salvador P. "The Philippines into the Twenty-first Century. University of the Philippines Conference on 25 February 1978. (Mimeographed.)

Mangahas, Mahar, and Quizon, Jaime B. "The Philippines in the Year 2000: Implications for Higher Education." Metro Manila: Fund for Assistance to Private Education, 1977. (Mimeographed.)

Manalang, Priscila s. Education in the Philippines in the Twentyfirst Century. Edited by Salvador Lopez. University of the Philippines Conference on 25 February 1978. (Mimeographed.)

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Morales, Alfredo T., and Sumagaysay, Lourdes s. "Perspectives on Educational Innovations in the Philippines." Paper read in the National Seminar on Educational Innovations for Development. DEC, Manila, 5-6 January 1976.

Muego, Benjamin Navarro. "The New Soceity of the Philippines: A Case Study of a Developmental Regime." Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Southern Illinois University, 1975.

National Board of Education Task Force III. Final Report. April 14, 1973. (Mimeographed.)

prakasha, Veda. "Educational Planning -- Definitions and Scope." Working Paper for a Seminar on Planning Organization and Administration of Teacher-Education. Asian Instituted for Teacher Education, Quezon City, 1971.

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Reyes, Bernardo. "Administration and Supervision of Public and Private Schools under the Integrated Reorganization Plan." Lecture delivered to the Graduate School, Saint r -,11is University, Baguio City, 19 May 1980. (Mimeographed.)

Reyes, Bernardi no, M. "Development Through Edu ca ti on." Talk delivered at the MEC Region I Conference, 1980.

Searle, Barbara, ed. Evaluation in Work Bank Education Projects: Lessons from Three Case Studies. The World Bank Discussion Paper, Education and Training Series.

Soriano, Liceria Brillantes. "Educational Innovations for Development." Opening remarks, National Seminar on Educational Innovations for Development 5-6 January 1976.

~arbooks/International Bodies/agencies

Aprieto, Pacifico N. "Textbooks for the Masses." The Fookien Times Yearbook, 1974. Manila: The Fookien Times Yearbook Publishing Co. Inc., 1974.

Corpuz, Onofre D. "Priority Areas for Educational Policy-Making in the 1980's." The Fookien Times Yearbook 1981-82 Philip-

pines Yearbook.

roshay, Arthur. "Curriculum Development and the Humane Qualities." Nurture Humaneness, the ASCD Yearbook. Washington, D. C., NEA, 1971.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The world Bank, World Tables, 3rd ed, Volume II Social Data. 1983.

International Labor Office (ILO). Sharing in Development: A Programme of Employment, Equity and Growth for the Philippines. Geneva, 1974.

Manila UNESCO National committee of the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs. Combining Education and Work Experiences in Asia and Oceania. "Philippines." Bangkok, UNESCO National Office for Education in Asia and Oceania, 1978.

Manuel, Juan L. "Philippine Education in the 80's." The Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook 1977.

Paxton, John, ed. "Republic of the Philippines.'' The Stateman's Yearbook. Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year 1985-1986. 122nd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985.

Philippines Yearbook 1985. National Census and Statistics Office, Manila, 1985.

The International Yearbook and Stateman;s Who's Who 1985. 33rd. ed. England: Thomas Skinner Dictionaries, 1985.

UNESCO. Building New Strategies to Serve Rural Children and Youth. Essex, Conn.: International Council for Educational Development, 1974.

UNESCO Charter of Sports for All. Adopted in Brisbane, Austrialia 1982.

UNESCO Statistical Yearbook. 1968.

World Bank Yearbook. Washington, D.C., New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.

APPENDIX A

SYSTEMS VIEW OP EDUCATION

DEVELOPMENT GOALS RIOONCIU

OUCATIONAL SYSTEM GOALS &- OBJECTIV£:S PLAN i PRO Giii.AM i

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE PHILIPPINES -0 ORGAN IZATIO,~c•Lirfi~ MANAGEMENT 0 t-~!'ft'ofl!il!ll'• ..,,,,,,,....,,. C4N•trr

> GRADUATES

-j ·tlALITr

•QUAllTIYJ

II 12 18 14 15 16 SCHOOL YEAR

4 6 9 10 11 ll 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 NOAMAL AH .-~--~---~_..~-+~--1""-~--~--~•~-.~-+~---".__~--~--~-.-~---~--~--~----.__~--__,

~~~D~t~":l:~ ELEMENTARY EDUCATION SECONDArt1' EDUCATIO~ COLLEGIATE EDUCATION

PRE-SCHOOl EDI/CATION FIRST LEVEL SECONI> LEVEL THIRD J.EVEL

FIGURES REFER TO ENROLMENT FOR EACH LEVEL, FOR BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS.

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 202

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 202

CREATING PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO SURVEY PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

WHEREAS, there is need to assess and improve the educational system to make it responsive to the challenge of modernization and the goals of national development; and

WHEREAS,such improvement to be effective must be based on an educated appraisal of the performance of the system in general, wic.h emphasis on qualitative shortages as pertain t:o deficient management structures,inability of the system to achieve the goals of human resources development, and the lack of mechanisms for channelling resources;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create a Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (hereinafter refer red to as the "Commission") which shall undertake a thorough study and assessment of education in the Philippines and make recommendations for policy and implementation.

The Objectives of the Survey on Philippine education are:

1. To analyze the performance of the educational system and its relevance to development goals. Emphasis should be placed on the system's capacity to meet human resources development goals, including the manpower requirements of national development. It shall also ascertain means for improving the efficiency of the system within the limits of available resources;

2. To recommend specific ways of improving the system with particular emphasis on developing policies and mechanisms for channelling resources, according to priorities for the purpose of achieving improvement in the system generally and meeting qualitative needs particularly; and

3. To identify critical areas in Philippine education for more detailed research and study.

The Commission shall be composed of a chairman, a vicechairman, and five (5) other members drawn from government and Private sectors, as follows:

Hon. ONOFRE D. CORPUZ Secretary of Education

- Chairman

Hon. PLACIDO L. MAPA, JR. - Vice-Chairman Director-G2neral, Presidential Economic Staff

Rev. HORACIO DE LA COSTA, S.J. Member

Dr. MIGUEL B. GAFFUD Member

Mr. SIXTO K. ROXAS Member

Dr. ABELARDO G. SAMONTE - Member

The Commission shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

a) Adopt and prescribe the guidelines that will govern the survey proper;

b) Avail of the funds available to support Department of Education;

that the

are, under existing laws, research activities of the

c) Solicit, when necessary, such assistance from both government and non-government sources as it may require in the discharge of its functions;

d) Defray all expenses of the survey, including compensation of all the personnel; and

e) Per form such other acts and things as may be necessary and proper for the discharge of its functions and responsibilities.

The Chairman shall act for the Commission in all administrative matters including the appointment of the Survey Director and the Staff.

This Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 24th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Nine.

FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippine

By the President:

ERNESTO M. MACEDA Executive Secretary

APPENDIX C

EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO SURVEY PHILIPPINE EDUCATION Fourth Floor, Menzi Building

319 Buendia Extension, Makati, Rizal

president Ferdinand E. Marcos Malacanang, Manila

Dear Mr. President:

We are privileged to submit this Report entitled "Education for National Development: New Patterns, New Directions," based on the survey and analysis undertaken by the Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education.

The Commission was organized pursuant to Executive Order No. 202, s. 1969.

The survey resulted from exploratory initiatives on the part of the Department of Education to interest the World Bank in Philippine educational improvement. However, in terms of your Executive Order, the survey and recommendations of the Commission, embodying as they do proposals for a total reform of the educational system of the Philippines, are concerned with matters far beyond possible immediate involvement of the Bank.

Efforts are currently underway to formulate the details of implementation especially organizational and financial requirements -- of the recommendations. Reactions of concerned parties such as the Congress, other bodies and groups, will also be solicited.

Needless to say, the faith we have in the validity and relevance of the Report's recommendations avails little without the President's support. This support we now seek, in view of the many tasks that remain to be done to make Philippine education approximate our people's needs and aspirations, which we know to be your desires.

Sincerely yours,

ONOFRE D. CORPUZ, Chairman; HORACIO DE LA COSTA, .S.J., Member;

ABELARDO G. SAMONTE, Member; PLACIDO L. MAPA, JR., Member; SIXTO

K. ROXAS, Member; LINO Q. ARQUIZA, Member; MIGUEL B.GAFFUD,Member

APPENDIX D

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION TO SURVEY PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

A. New Educational Aims.

The new aims are premised on the continuance of a free and democratic society in the Philippines. They can be translated into achievable targets of the contribution that education can make to national development. They are to govern educational policy-making as well as educational administration, from the national down to institutional level. For the purpose of relating educational aims to educational operations meaningfully, the aims are each related to a specific level of the educational ladder.

B. Educational Policy-Making.

The proposed new educational ladder consists of six years for the First Level (elementary), five years for the Second Level (secondary), and four or more years for the Third Level (higher education). The preparatory phase (nursery,kindergarten) will be the subject of study for eventual formal integration into the educational ladder. Special one, two, and three-year programs beyond the secondary level for training technicians and technologists are provided for.

D. First Level of Education.

In order to provide the first phase of general education for all citizens, and the basis for the formation of trained manpower, the first six years of schooling will be compulsory.

E. Second Level of Education.

The second phase of general education will last five years. The first three years will be a single stream, which will be divided into two streams in the fourth and fifth years. The first of these two will offer vocational training, which will be either terminal at the end of the fifth year, or prepare the graduate for further training as a technician or technologist. The second stream will be academic, to prepare students for higher education.

This second level will be conducted in comprehensive high schools. There will be a nationwide network of such comprehensive high schools.

K..! Middle-Level Manpower Training.

The establishment of special technical institutes beyond the second level to offer training, retraining, and in-service programs for the formation of skilled technicians is recommended. aeyond this, higher technician and technological training will be provided in higher education institutions. A scheme of close and regular liaison among these institutes, labor off ices, and industry is recommended in order to insure the relevance of training to actual requirements, and to maximize employment of graduates through placement services.

G. Higher Education.

This level is to be strengthened principally through: regular review and coordination procedures for the development of higher education programs; a national accreditation scheme; a coherent system of public universities with corresponding satellite colleges; national college admission tests; an grants-in-aid and other incentive schemes to selected and important programs in private education.

H. Financing of Education.

It is recommended that, as a general rule, the national government shall be primarily responsible for financing public education other than elementary and secondary, except at vocational programs in the new comprehensive high schools should continue to receive national financial assistance in the first phase of the long-term implementation period. National assistance shall likewise be available for the vocational programs in the private comprehensive high schools. Primary responsibility for financing public elementary and academic secondary education should be substantially assumed by the local governments. A scheme for providing local governments with the corresponding income sources must be formulated and adopted. A national equalization fund for education must be established to assist local governments with insufficient funds.

It is proposed that financial operational responsibility be decentralized and it a is assumed that this will result in the improvement of budgeting and accounting procedures at all levels of financial administration.

I. Reorganization of Administration.

a. The Department of Education will be renamed the Department of Education and Culture. The Secretary of Education will continue to be appointed by the President as at present. However, routine operating responsibility in the Dept. of Education and Culture will be vested in a professional Undersecretary with permanent tenure.

There will be only one Undersecretary. (This scheme corresponds to the Reorganization Commission's model.)

b. A Bureau of General Education will replace the present Bureau of Public Schools and Bureau of Vocational Educational, to administer and coordinate elementary and secondary education programs, both public and private. This will do away with the dichotomy of public-private in the first two levels, and facilitate coordination and direction.

c. A Bureau of Higher Education will replace the present Bureau of Private Schools. The new Bureau will directly administer only the private sector of higher education. However, a mechanism is provided for review, coordination, and development of both government and private sectors in higher education. Government higher education institutions will be coordinated through a State Colleges and Universities Board, with links to the Bureau of Higher Education and the National Board of Education.

d. There will be regional divisions for general and higher education. The regional divisions will maintain national standards, and will be vested with autonomy to relate educational programs to regional development requirements.

e. The Office of the Secretary will strengthened with technical staff offices for dealing with continuing problems of educational logistics planning, research, and evaluation.

f. The other bureaus in the Department of Education and Culture will be the National Library, National Museum, Institute of National Language, and the National Historical Institute.

J. Language of Instruction.

The Commission believes that bilingualism in Pilipino and English is both a fact of Philippine national life today, aS-Well as a desirable condition in the contemporary world. The choice is not either Pilipino or English, to the exclusion of the other in our educational system. It is recommended that Pilipino be the main language of instruction at the elementary level, with the main vernacular as the medium in the first two grades. At the secondary and higher education levels, it is recommended the Pilipino or English, whenever practicable - be the instructional medium. As a preface to these language recommendations, however, the Commission notes that the language issue facing the nation today has implications transcending the educational system. It therefore expects that the decision on the language question be

taken at the level of higher politics, possibly through action by the Constitutional Convention.

K. Implementation.

The implementation of the Commission's recommendations will require the formulation of extensive and detailed program designs and project plans of operations, including costing and time schedules. This urgent priority task will be undertaken by an expert implementation group which the Commission recommends to be organized immediately. The expert group will also lay the groundwork for the adoption of a comprehensive educational plan and facilitate the strengthening of the planning and research office of the Department.

L. Financing of the Commission's Recommendations.

A special feature of the Commission's work is a budget for the financial requirements of the major program/project recommendations. This budget identifies; the components suitable for national financing and those appropriate for funding through external loans or grants. It is strongly recommended that the Government explore, and solicit where necessary, external funding arrangements for this purpose.

The Commission is undecided whether to present this final report upon a note of diffidence, or self-assurance. The tone of the recommendations is sober and pragmatic but some individual proposals will generate interest and spirited comment. The financial, and some structural, recommendations, are bound to stir up debate, even controversy.

At the same time, the Commission observes that the direction and quality of our education, which for some time were generally sheltered from penetrating public scrutiny because of popular indifference, are now at the very center of public concern -- and national anxiety. The nation is now called upon to make firm decisions, and the nation seems prepared to make those decisions.

The Commission offers definite new directions and approaches for improving our educational quality.

Not from diffidence, not from self-assurance, therefore, does the Commission present this Report.

To President Ferdinand E. Marcos, for his confidence; and to the Department of Education, the Fund for Assistance to Private Education, and the Ford Foundation, for their generous assistance; the Commission takes this opportunity to express their sincere and lasting appreciation.

Source: Education for National Development. pp. 9-19.

APPENDIX E

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 6-A AUTHORIZING THE UNDERTAKING OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS,

PROVIDING FOR THE MECHANICS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND FINANCING THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines and pursuant to Proclamation No.1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, do hereby decree, order and make as part of the law of the land the following measures.

SECTION 1. Title This Decree shall be known as the "Educational Development Decree of 1972."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy - It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government to ensure, within the context of a free and democratic system to the attainment of the following national development goals:

(a) To achieve and maintain an accelerating rate of economic development and progress;

(b) To assure the maximum participation of all the people in the attainment and enjoyment of the benefits of such growth; and

(c) To strengthen national consciousness and promote desirable cultural values in a changing world.

SEC. 3. Statement of Objectives. educational system aims to:

To this end, the

(a) Provide for a broad general education that will assist each individual, in the peculiar ecology of his own society, to (1) attain his potential as a human being; (2) enhance the range and quality of individual and group participation in the basic functions of society; and ( 3) acquire the essential educational foundation for his development in a productive and versatile citizen;

(b) Train the nation's manpower in the middle level skill required for national development;

(c) Develop the high-level professions that will provide leadership for the nation, advance knowledge through research, and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of human life; and

d) Respond effectively to changing needs and conditions of the nation through a system of educational planning and evaluation.

SEC. 4. Guiding Principles of the Ten-Year Program. In order to lay the foundation and to advance the attainment of these objectives, a ten-year national educational development program shall be formulated based on the following:

(a) Improvement of curricular programs and quality of instruction of all levels by way of upgrading physical facilities, adoption of cost-saving instructional technology, and training and re-training of teachers and administrators;

( b) Upgrading of academic standards through accreditation schemes, admissions testing and guidance counselling;

(c) Democratization of access to educational opportunities through the provision of financial assistance to deserving students, skills training program for out-of-school youth and continuing education program for non-literate adults;

(d) Restructuring of higher education to become more responsive to national development needs through a planned system of incentives and assistance to both public and private colleges and universities and synchronization of curricular programs, staffing patterns and institutional development activities;

(e) Expansion of existing programs and establishment of new ones designed to train middle-level technical and agricultural manpower; and

(f) Instituting reform in the educational financing system to facilitate the shift of funding responsibility for elementary and secondary education from the national to the local government, thereby increasing government participation in higher education.

SEC. 5. Educational Development Projects. - The above stated objectives shall be attained through the undertaking of the following educational development projects:

(a) Management study of the Department of Education and Culture and institution of administrative improvements therein;

(b) Establishment and/or operation or improvement of secondary schools which may include provision for extension services, facilities and equipment to allow the use of expanded and improved curriculum;

(c) Establishment and/or operation, upgrading or improvement of technical institutes, skills training centers, and other non-formal training programs and projects for the out-of-school youth and the unemployed in collaboration with the programs of the National Manpower and Youth Council;

(d) Curriculum and staff development including mathematics and science teaching;

(e) Expansion of agricultural secondary and higher education programs and extension activities which may include radio broadcasting and rural training services, and the provision of facilities therefore including seed capital and revolving funds;

(f) Design, utilization and improvement of instructional technology and development/production of textbooks and other instructional materials; and

(g) Assistance and incentives, including loans and grants, toward the planned development and improvement programs and facilities in both public and private universities, colleges and schools.

In addition, other educational development projects necessary pursuant to the objectives of this Decree are likewise to be undertaken; Provided, That for such projects to qualify under this Decree, the same must be consistent with the principles enunciated in Section 4 hereof, supported by sufficient studies, data and plans of operation and implementation, endorsed by the National Board of Education to, and approved by an Education Special Committee, hereinafter provided, to form part of the educational development program.

SEC. 6. Working Arrangements. - For the attainment of the objectives of this Decree, an Education Special Committee, composed of the Secretary of Education and Culture as Chairman and the Secretary of Finance and the Commissioner of the Budget as members,is hereby created which shall;

(a) Approve and evaluate the specific projects, endorsed to

it by the National Board of Education, to be financed out of the resources provided for in this Decree; and

(b) Administer the Educational Institutions Development fund as hereinafter provided, except that the resources accruing into the Fund shall be managed by reputable fund managers or financial institutions.

The National Board of Education, as reorganized pursuant to presidential Decree No. 1, dated September 24, 1972, shall, in addition to its functions, perform the following:

(a} Formulate education objectives and policies consistent with those enunciated in Section 2 hereof; and

(b} Provide policy guidelines in the administration of the assistance and incentive programs provided for in Section 5 (g} hereof, which shall include a system of educational priorities consistent with national, regional and/or local requirements for education and skills training, and such other procedures and requirements as will ensure the continual upgrading of the quality of education, the democratization of access to education.

In the discharge of its functions, the National Board of Education shall be assisted by an Off ice of planning and research known as Planning Service in the Department of Education and Culture.

A project unit to be known as the Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force is hereby established under the Office of the Secretary of Education and Culture to be headed by a Director and be composed of technical staff members and such consultants are necessary. Its functions are:

(a} To supervise and implement foreign-assisted development projects; and

(b} To implement such other development projects as may be assigned to it by the Secretary of Education and Culture.

Where the project involves an office, agency or instrumentality of the Government other than the Department of Education and Culture, appropriate working arrangements shall be established by the Educational Department Projects Implementing Task ~orce and the off ice, agency or instrumentality concerned, including the turn over of the project upon its completion to such office, agency or instrumentality to be integrated with and be part of the regular activities thereof.

SEC. 7. Authority to Borrow. - The President of the Philippines, in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, may contract loans, credits or indebtedness with any foreign source or lender, under such term and ·conditions as may be agreed upon, any provisions of law, including Republic Act Numbered Forty-eight hundred and sixty as amended by Republic Act Numbered Sixty-one hundred and forty-two, Act Numbered One hundred thirty-eight, commonweal th Act Numbered five hundred eighty-three and other related laws to the contrary notwithstanding, for a total amount not exceeding one hundred million United States dollars or the equivalent thereof in other currencies, as may be necessary to meet the direct and indirect foreign exchange requirements of the projects authorized under this Decree, to cover the costs of feasibility studies, equipment, machineries, supplies, construction, installation and related services of any such projects: Provided, That the loans, credit or indebtedness authorized herein shall be incurred on terms of payment of not less than ten (10) years.

SEC. 8. Utilization of Proceeds. - The proceeds of such loans, credits or indebtedness, as well as the appropriations under Section 9 shall be used exclusively for financing the educational development projects authorized under this Decree: Provided, That for the purpose of ensuring continued assistance to the planned development and improvement of programs and facilities in both public and private universities, colleges and schools, there is hereby authorized to be established an Educational Institutions Development Fund in an amount of not less than ten million pesos (Pl0,000,000), Philippine currency, annually for a period of ten ( 10) years. The said fund shall be administered as a separate fund, and lending or relending operations to private universities, colleges and schools shall be subject to the rules and regulations to be promulgated by the National Board of Education with the approval of the Secretary of Finance.

Cities, provinces and municipalities may undertake educational development projects pursuant to the objectives of this Decree and are hereby authorized to avail themselves of proceeds of loans, credits or indebtedness herein authorized as well as the appropriations under Section 9 hereof and receive financial assistance subject to such conditions as may be provided for and/or promulgated by the National Board of Education pursuant to this Decree.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. - In addition to the proceeds of the loans credits or indebtedness mentioned in Section 7 hereof, ~here is hereby appropriated for the projects authorized herein in the sum of five hundred mill ion pesos ( P500, 000, 000) out of the funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated

which shall be programmed and released in the following manner: fifty million pesos ( P50, 000, 000) for Fiscal Year 1972-73 and fifty million pesos ({50,000,000) annually thereafter until June thirty, nineteen hundred eighty-two: Provided, That notwithstanding the said .;chedule actual requirements of the projects being implemented during said fiscal year; Provided, further, That should there be any surplus in the annual appropriations herein provided, the same shall accrue to the Educational Special Account herein created in the General Fund which shall be made available to finance the projects during the subsequent fiscal years.

SEC. 10. Creation of Educational Special Account. - There is hereby established in the National Treasury an Educational Special Account to meet the appropriations herein provided, which shall be constituted from the following sources:

(a) Proceeds from bond issues as provided for under Section 11 of this Decree;

( b) Twenty million pesos ( P20, 000, 000) annually from the share of the National Government in the Special Education Fund under Republic Act Numbered Fifty four hundred forty seven as provided in Section 12 hereof;

( c) Fifteen million pesos ( Pl5, 000, 000) from the Special Science Fund for Fiscal Year 1972-73, and fifty per centum (50%), annually thereafter until June 30, 1972, of the total annual receipts from the taxes provided for under Republic Act Numbered Fifty-four forty-eight, as provided in Section 13 hereof;

(d) Future Culture reforms Section

savings of the Department of Education and of that may result from the implementation

consequent to management study, as provided in 14 hereof, and

(e) Augmentations from the General Funds which are hereby authorized in cases where the above sources are not sufficient to cover expenditures required in any year, as provided in Section 15 of this Act.

The Department of Education, and Culture is hereby authorized to receive and spend or utilize donations and/or bequests made in pursuance of the purposes and for projects enunciated in this Decree which donations and/or bequests shall be exempt from the payment of gift taxes.

SEC. 11. Bond Issues. - The Secretary of Finance may issue and sell bonds not exceeding twenty million pesos annually under

the authority of Republic Act Numbered Four Thousand eight hundred sixty one, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 12. Portion of the Special Education Fund. Any provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, effective July 1, 1972, until June 30, 1982, twenty million pesos (P20,000,000) of the annual share of the National Government from the Special Education Fund provided for under Republic Act Numbered Fifty-four hundred and forty-seven shall accrue to the General Fund.

SEC. 13. Portion of Special Science Fund. - Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, effective upon approval of this Decree, fifteen million pesos (Pl5,000,000) of the Special Fund established under Republic Act Numbered fifty-four hundred and forty-eight as amended is hereby transferred to the Educational Special Account herein provided. Starting July 1, 1972, until June 30, 1982, fifty per centum (50%) of the total collections from the taxes imposed under Republic Act Numbered fifty-four hundred and forty-eight as amended shall accrue to the Educational Special Account. Thereafter, said portion shall accrue to the General Fund.

SEC. 14. Future Savings. - Such amount of savings resulting from the implementation of reforms consequent to the management st11dy authorized under Section 5 as may be necessary to prosecute the projects under this Decree shall accrue to the Educational Special Account.

SEC. 15. Augmentation from General Fund. - In cases where funds from sources specified in Section 10 (a), (b), )c), and (d), are not sufficient to meet the requirements in any fiscal year, such amounts as are necessary to meet such requirements are hereby appropriated out of the funds in the General Funds not otherwise appropriated, and transferred to the Education Special Account.

SEC. 16. Tax Exemption. - The loans, credits or indebtedness incurred pursuant to this Decree, the payment of the principal, interest and other charges thereon, the earnings of the fund created under Section 8, as well as the importation of articles, materials, equipment, machineries and supplies, including all building materials by the Department of Education and Culture or Other off ices, agencies or instrumentalities of the Government and by private or chartered entities authorized by Education Special Committee to undertake the projects authorized in this

Act shall be exempt from all Committee taxes, duties, fees, imports, other charges and restrictions, including import restrictions, imposed by the Republic of the Philippines or any of its agencies or. political subdivisions. The Secretary of Finance shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the purpose.

SEC. 17. Additional Appropriations. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to pay the principal, interests and other charges on the loans, credits or indebtedness incurred under the authority of this Decree as and when they become due.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, rules or regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectivity. immediately.

This Decree shall take effect

Done in the City of Manila, this 29th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.

For the President

( SGD. )

ROBERT V. REYES

(SGD.) FERDINANDE. MARCOS President

Republic of the Philippines

Acting Executive Secretary

Source: Vital Documents on Proclamation No. 1081. Vol. l (NMPC) pp. 149-155.

APPENDIX F

Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY Manila

Department Order No. 2 0 , s • 19 7 3

May 30, 1973

THE REVISED SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM, 1973

To: The Director of Public Schools The Director of Private Schools The Director of Vocational Education, and Presidents of State College and Universities:

1. The Enclosed herewith is the Revised Secondary Education Program, 1973 as approved by the National Board of Education on May 8, 1973. The Revised Objectives of Secondary Education and the Revised Secondary Education Program for all high schools are indicated herein as Enclosures "A" and "B", respectively.

2. The program shall be gradually implemented as follows:

a. In the second semester of the school year 197 3-197 4, the new scheme of programming by the hour shall be tried out in all high schools using the subjects of the present curriculum.

b. The revised secondary curriculum with the new scheme of programming shall be fully implemented in:

1974-1975 - First Year & Second Year 1975-1976 - First, Second & Third Year 1976-1977 - All Years

3. All high schools, public and private should work out schemes for the proper reorientation and/or training of teachers and the administrative and supervisory ranks to/on the new curriculum. Experimentation on the new curriculum shall be allowed subject to the approval of the Department of Education and culture.

"Enclosure A"

Republic of the Philippines National Board of Education

M A N I L A

May 30, 1973

THE REVISED SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM, 1973

Objectives of Secondary Education

The general functions of secondary education are: a) continuation of general education started in the elementary school; b) preparation for a vocational; and c) preparation for college.

In the light of these functions, secondary education should enable the student to:

1. Develop a reasoned corrunitment to the goals of national development by cherishing, preserving, and developing moral and spiritual values and other aspects of the national heritage desirable in Philippine society;

2. Understand the wide possibilities of the arts and the sciences as permanent sources of pleasure and profit, and discover, broaden, and heighten his abilities in and appreciation for them;

3. Acquire the basic occupational skills, knowledge and information essential for obtaining initial gainful employment, and for making intelligent choice of occupation or career;

4. Acquire further skills in thinking, speaking, and writing and develop the ability to react intelligently and creatively to mass media and other life situations;

5. Obtain experience and form desirable attitudes for understanding himself, his own people, and other races, places and times through opportunities for living vicariously with a wide variety of peoples, thereby promoting a keen sense of self and family and of national and international corrununities; and

6. Demonstrate understanding, acquisition, and application of the basic concepts and methodologies of the different branches of human knowledge in order to promote his physical, intellectual, emotional and social -wellbeing.

SUBJECT AREAS, A BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Communication Arts. It is a part of the broad field termed "Humanities" in the revised secondary curriculum. It aims at further developing the students communications arts - listening, speaking, reading and writing to help him discover his abilities and tastes and to utilize his potentials and attain his fulfillment as a human being.

Communication Arts (English) I focuses on the mastery of the basic sentence and paragraph patterns, Philippine Literature and in the enjoyment of Art forms. Communication Arts (English) II focuses on expanded sentence forms and on Asian and African literature. Communication Arts (English) III focuses on different composition patterns and on English and American literature. communication Arts (English) IV focuses on formal writing, world classics and on discipline in the arts.

Communication Arts (Filipino) I covers mastery of the basic sentence and paragraph patterns. Communication Arts (Filipino) II deals with more complex sentence patterns and prose and poetry in Pilipino. Communication Arts (Filipino) III uses longer forms of discourse. Communication Arts (Filipino) IV puts emphasis on the four forms of discourse.

Character Education is to be integrated with the content at all levels.

Science. The Natural Sciences (Biological and Physical) consist of integrated science courses with emphasis on a particular area at each year level. Science I (First Year) emphasizes physical concepts; Science II (Second Year), Chemistry, Science III (Third Year), Biology and Science IV (Fourth Year), Physics. These courses aim to strengthen the science processes developed in the elementary grades and to acquire basic knowledge of scientific concepts and principles making the student scientifically literate and therefore a more effective citizen.

Social Studies. The social studies offerings have corresponding conceptual themes for each year level. Social Studies I, The Community, has geography, anthropology and sociology as dominant disciplines; Social Studies II, Philippine History and 'government, has history and political science; Social Studies III, Development and Progress gives added stress to economics; Social Studies IV, The World: A Cultural Perspective gives new emphasis on geography, anthropology, and sociology. Teaching for values will be stressed to develop a concerned citizen in a democratic society.

Mathematics. Although arithmetic, algebra and geometry are integrated and presented as mathematics in a unified form in every curriculum year, emphasis differs from year to year.

Mathematics I emphasizes number system; Mathematics II, algebra; Mathematics III, geometry, and Mathematics IV, advance algebra and concepts from other branches of mathematics depending on the needs of the community and the abilities of the students.

Practical Arts. This program includes Homemaking Arts, Agricultural Arts, Industrial Arts, Business and Distributive Arts, and Fishery Arts. It is envisioned to expose the boys and girls to as many areas of Practical Arts as possible and to develop trainability through occupational orientation, occupation-al understandings, and to develop good work habits and ways of getting along with people in the occupations. During the first and second years, the student will go through exploratory experiences in at least three areas depending on the resources and facilities of the high school and the economic needs of the community. At the end of the second year he shall have selected one area in which he is particularly interested and in which he will get further training during his third and fourth years to make him a useful member of his family and to gain initial employment after graduation.

Youth Development Training and Citizen Army Training. Youth Development Training is offered to the first, second and third year students. It includes the physical education program, heal th education offerings and Scouting. Citizen Army Training is given to the fourth year students, instead of Scouting, to provide the students with basic citizen army training for one academic year. The physical education program emphasizes physical fitness and recreational and competitive sports with active participation among the learners. The heal th education offerings consist of Health I which focuses on the components of the organisms' structure and their relations to human growth and development; Health II which focuses on factors that affect the sequences of growth and development; Health III which focuses on the health and behavior problems of adolescents; and Health IV which deals with the interaction of the individual and his environment.

Boy and girl scouting covers the following areas of training oat each year level: for boy scouting - citizenship, outdoor program, and organizations; for girl scouting - the development of the g i r 1, service, and relationships with other people. The content of the course progresses in a spiralling scheme from year to year developing the basic skills and values covered by each area.

APPENDIX G

Republika ng Pilipinas [Republic of the Philippines]

Kagawaran ng Edukasyon at Kultura [Department of Education and Culture]

KAWANIHAN NG MGA PAARALANG PRIBADO [Bureau of Private Schools]

Maynila

M E M 0 R A N D U M No . 2 8 , s . 19 7 3

June 8, 1973

THE REVISED SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM

To Heads of Private Schools, Colleges, and Universities:

L The attached Department Order No. 20, s. 1973, embodying the Revised Secondary Education Program, 1973 for all secondary schools, public and private, is hereby issued to the field in preparation for its gradual implementation starting the school year 1974-75. In the second semester of school year 1973-74, however, all private high schools expected to try out the new scheme of programming by the hour using the subjects of the present curriculum. Experimentation on the new curriculum shall be allowed subject to the approval of the Department of Education and culture.

2. On the basis of the revised objectives enunciated therein, the new program is a more responsive approach to the rapidly changing needs of youth in this country, conscious of his role as an effective citizen in a democratic society and a useful participant in national development efforts. Moreover, the program affords him greater opportunity for self-sufficiency.

3. Effective immediately, all heads of private secondary schools should begin working out schemes toward proper and effective implementation of the new curriculum.

Encl.: As stated:

Reference: Circular No. 2, s. 1957

JULIAN B. YBALLE Director

APPENDIX H

Republika ng Pilipinas Kagawaran ng Edukasyon at Kultura

KAWANIHAN NG MGA PAARALANG PRIBADO Maynila

M E M 0 R A N D U M No. 139, s. 1974

November 27, 1974

GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1973 REVISED SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM

To Heads of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities:

1. The attached guidelines on the implementation of the Revised Secondary Education Program of 1973 as embodied under Department Order No. 20, s. 1973 are hereby transmitted for the information and guidance of all private secondary schools.

2. All regulations and policies issued previously which are inconsistent with these guidelines are hereby rescinded.

3, Wide and immediate dissemination of these guidelines to all concerned is earnestly desired.

( Sgd) .

Encl.: As stated.

References: Department Order No. 20, s. 1973 Department Memorandum No. 8 4, s. 19 7 4

JULIAN B. YBALLE Director

Guidelines on the Implementation of the Revised Secondary Education

Program, 19 7 3

In connection with the implementation of Department Order No. 20, s. 1973, the following guidelines are hereby promulgated to be observed by all private secondary schools.

i. Nomenclature of subjects in rating cards.

This should be in accordance with the description of the different subject areas in the revised secondary curriculum "Enclosure B." To illustrate the following examples are given:

Eng 1 is h w i 11 be stat e d as Co mm u n i cat ion Ar ts I (English); Communication Arts II (English); Communication Arts III (English); Communication Arts IV (English) for the first to fourth years.

2. Scheduling of subjects considering that the implementation for school year 1974-1975 is only for the first years of the program.

Scheduling of subjects in all levels shall be on the hourly basis, following the time allotment prescribed as shown in "Enclosure B" for the first and second years. For the third and fourth years, subjects of the previous curriculum may be offered on the hourly basis.

3. Teachers Load.

Teaching load of secondary teachers shall normally range from 15 hours per week for pour Communication Arts subjects, i.e., English and Pilipino, to 21 hours per week for other subject areas with not more than four ( 4) preparations: Provided, however, that the total number of \1orking hour;.;; of each teacher shall not exceed eight (8) hours during each school day or 40 hours a week. In this connection, attention is invited to Office Circular No. 8, s. 1974 dated July 22, 1974.

4. Grading System:

The Bureau does not prescribe any specific grading system. The grade or rating of a pupil or a student in each subject should be fair and just and should reflect his proficiency in the subject based on reasonable rules and standards of the school. To pass in any secondary subject, a student must receive a final rating in that subject of not less than 75 percent or its equivalent.

5. Practical Arts Courses:

Practical Arts/Vocational courses should be those subjects prescribed in the approved curriculum of the school concerned. The school should have a variety of vocational offerings to choose from which will give the students sufficient training for a gainful employment and/or preparation for the post secondary technical institutes.

6. Electives:

Electives should be those subjects prescribed in the approved curriculum of the school concerned. If elective is vocational or practical arts, it should be one (1) unit for 300 minutes a week or one (1) hour a day for 5 days a week. If elective is academic, it should be one (1) unit for 180 minutes a week or one (1) hour a day for 3 days a week.

7. Guidance:

Guidance should be taken up during the home-room period and when the need for it arises. Guidance counselors, teachers-in-charge and all school officials should exert the maximum amount of effort in administering guidance services to students in need.

8. Y.D.T. [Youth Development Training]:

YDT is students. and Music. follows:

offered to the first, second and third year It comprises of Scouting, P.E., Health Education For the first semester, it should be offered as

Scouting -P.E. - - -H.E. - - -

2 days a week 1 day a week l day a week

For the second semester, it should be offered as follows:

Scouting -P.E. - - -H.E. - - -

1 day a week 2 days a week 1 day a week

Students of the Night Secondary are exempted from taking Y.D.T.

APPENDIX I

EDUCATION IN THE PfDLIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN*

By HON. MANUEL ALBA Minister of the Budget

L Introduction

A. Philippine development is aimed primarily at axelerating growth and social development.

B. Social development and social justice will be promoted through the creation of productive employment opportwtities, reduction of income disparities, improvement of the living standards of the poor and enrichment of social and cultural values.

C. Towards this end, tJ1e cowltry's human resource potential will be harnessed. TI1is will entaH vigorous efforts to improve tJ1e physical, intellectual and material well-being of the people.

U. The F.ducation Plan

A. Goals

1. Central to the development of human resources, the educational system will be addressed to the promotion of a broad general education, the training of the nation's manpower in critical skills required for development, the development of high-level professions and the promotion of national identity and culture.

B. Basic Approaches

To attain the above goals, there are three basic approaches:

1. Strategy for equity: equalizing access to and quality of education and training among and within regions;

2. Strategy for relevant quality: providing conditions for the development of quality education and training that are relevant to the socio-political, economic and regional environment;

• Speech delivered by Or. Manuel Alba, then Dltputy Director-General for Planning and Policy of the National Economic & Development Authority, at a Symposium sponsored by the Phi Delta Kappa (Man Ila Philippines Chapter) on the occasion of Philippine Education Week and the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Phi Delta Kappa lntematlonal. The Symposium wa held on September 8, 1980 at the Philamlife Auditorium at the United Nation• Avenue, Manila.

3. Strategy for efficiency, effectiveness amJ pro<luctivity: improving t11e operations and performance of public and private institutions in tl1e delivery of education services.

C Fomza/ Education

1. Elementary education (now called primary education as defmed in tl1e proposed Education Act of 1980) will develop basic literacy, numeracy, cri ticaJ thinking, social and work skills. The improvement of outcomes will be its main tJarust;

2. Secondary education will reinforce primary education and prepare the youth for higher education. Focus of development efforts will be t11c improvement of curricular programs and the quality of education;

3. Vocational·teclmicaJ education which covers both secondary and post-secondary vocationaJ/tech.nical programs will also reinforce basic education while t1aining manpower in skills required for national development. Stress will be given to the productivity of institutions so that they will be able to generate additional resou1ces and thereby reJuce their dependence on government support for their ope iations;

4. Higher education will provide better quality education, develop

high level manpower and intensify research and extension services. The matching of educational output with national and regional manpower needs and the generation of new sources of fmancing both for institutions and students will be emphasized.

D. Non-Jonna/ Education

1. Non-formal education will continue to complement and supplement formal education. Priority will be given to the training of the out-of-school youth, unemployed and w1<leremployed;

2. Non-fonnal education will provide basic, middle-level and entre· preneurial skills to meet specific skills requirements of the econ· omy, ensure fw1ctional literacy, numeracy and general education, provide skills upgrading and develop and inculcate positive work attitudes;

3. Critical to nou-fonnal education is the continuing re-alignment of training needs to the demand for manpower by the agriculture, industry and the service sectors.

Ill. Accomplishments of the Education Plan in the Fint HaJf of Plan Implementation (1978-1980)

A. Indicators

1. Llteracy rates rose from a level of 87.9 percent in 1978 to 88.9 percent in 1980;

2. The fonnal school system absorbed a total of 12.1 million students with enrollment reaching the 8 million mark at the elementary level in SY 1980-81; '

3. School leaver rates (drop-out rates) declined from 4.23 percent in SY 1978-79 to 3.89 percent in SY 1980-81;

. 4. Textbook-pupil ratios at the elementary and secondary levels improved substantially from 1: 10 to 1: 2 and 1 :8 respectively in the current year.

B. Programs

1. F.quity 20 million textbooks were distributed under the Textbook Devel· opment Project; 13,274 new classrooms were constructed and 1,475 classrooms rehabilit?ted under the School Building Program; MEC scholarship grants were awarded to 5,250 students in SY 1980-81 while the Study-Now-Pay-Later Plan assisted a total of 8,740 students since 1976; 14 new state wliversities and colleges were created all over the country.

2. Relevant Quality The University of Life which is pattemed after the humanist ideology and following flexible curricula was established;

A Program for Comprehensive Elementary Education Development (PROCEED) was developed to improve scholastic achievement of pupils at the elementary level;

Around 315 thousand teachers and administrators Wlderwent intensive teacher training and re-training;

Fishery Training Project to be financed by a $38M IDRD loan was successfully negotiated in 1979 to upgrade quality of fishery man· power and improve fishery technology;

Two major studies on the mismatch between education output and manpower requirements were conducted: Higher Education and Labor Market Study (HELMS) and Review/Rationalization of Vocational/Teclutlcal Education (LOI 859);

NMYC skills development programs graduated a total of 88 thou· sand trainees while the Batarisan program assisted 2, 131 out-of· school youths;

Some 1,177 apprenticeship programs were organized which grad· uated 52,902 trainees of which 95 percent were absorbed into regular employment.

3. Efficiency, Effectiveness, Productivity Two important plans were formulated in 197 8 - the National Man· power Plan and the Quantum Leap Plan of the private higher edu· ca~ion sector; A Program for Decentralized Educational Development (PRODED) was instituted at the MEC to strengthen educational planning capabilities at the local level;

The Study on the Financing of Private Education (LOI 703) was conducted drawing major policy proposals for assistance to private higher education institutions and students.

IV. New Directions in the Second Half of Plan lm1>lementation (1981-1982)

A. Challenges

The education and manpower sector will have to exert greater efforts in order to confront the following challenges:

1. The gap between educational demand and supply; 2. The imbalance between resources and need~· 3. The lack of relevance and the unevenness in the quality of educa·

tional content and methods vis-a-vis the changing environment; 4. The mismatch between educational output and manpower demand; 5. The regional disparities in educational opportunities and academic

achievement.

In addition, the sector will have to contend with: 6. The need for a set of shared beliefs supportive of national unity;

and 7. The need to measure up to public accoWltability in view of the

greater participation of people in development and a maturing parliamentary process.

B Response

1. In the next two years of Plan Implementation, the policies stated in the education plan will be more vigorously pursued to overcome the problems cited ;

2. In addition, stress will be given to the development and enhance· ment of the Filipino value system directed towards the adoption of a life· style in confonnity with the present economic and social environment. The administrative machinery will be made more efficient, economical and effective in the delivery of educational services. Tie-ups with foreign-based education groups to facilitate technology transfer will be encouraged in addition to existing foreign institution/local institution linkages;

C Formal Education

3. At the primary level, the concerns of pre-school children, disadvan· taged and gifted learners will be given increasing attention. Parents' greater involvement in the educational program will be solicited;

4. At the secondary level, barangay high schools will be developed to become locally-funded commWlity schools catering to local needs;

5. In higher education, the major focus will be tJ1e generation of financing from non-traditional sources such as employee salaries, alumni donations, contributions from industry, etc.;

D. Non- /ormal Education

6. Non-formal education will support the manpower requirements of the 11 major national projects. Laid-off workers or the underemployed will be re-trained in skills needed by the labor market. A more general type of training will be given instead of specialized training to increase the chances of workers to be absorbed by industries.

V. Conclusion

TI1us, towards the achievement of a much improved quality of life, education will play a vital role.

Source: Serafin V. C. Guingona, Issues in Philippine Education (Phi Delta Kappa: Manila, Philippines Chapter. 1982~ pp. 75-79.

APPENDIX J

MECS . ~

Memoranda MECS ORDERS NO. 6, s. 1982

N0.19,s.1983

Educational Reorientation Program PROD ED

Republika ng Pllipinas (Republic of the Philippines)

MINISTRI NG EDUKASYON AT KULTURA (MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CUL ")"URE)

Maynila

January 29, 1982

MEC 0 RD ER No. 6, s. 1 9 8 2

THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM (NESC)

TO: Bureau Qi rectors Regional Directors

Chiefs of Services and Heads of Units Schools Superintendents Presidents, State Colleges and Universities Heads of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities

lnclosed herewith is the New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC). The Sallient Features of the NESC, the Revised Objectives of Elementary Education, Time rAllotment and Subject Area Descriptions, and Sample Class Programs are indicated herein as lnclosures 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

i:~e ,\JESC deiit:er<Jteiy cr:e:.ts e!emen:~r·; 2cit..:c~:;;:icn zc naicnai develcpment Jr.d ·2-flects research-based directions for curricular change. Its scope covers the general education of the agent. Its thrust is in intelJectual growth through which human/civic/ economic/cultural development is enhanced. In this respect, NESC is a return to the basics.

A time frame-range is indicated to allow for flexibility. Programming must be flexible enough to provide for emphasis on learning areas not well learned.

The implementation of the NESC shall take effect beginning the school year 1983-84. The following timetable indicates the introduction of the new curriculum by grade level:

Grade I Grade II Grade Ill Grade IV -Grade V -Grade VI -

June 1983 June 1984 June1985 June 1986 June 1987 June 1988

5. To insure effective implementation, the gradual introduction of the NESC in Grades I through VI should provide for the preparation of appropriate instructional materials and the adequate orientation of teachers and school administrators. The new curriculum requires multi-level materials for children of varied abilities,as well as teacher retraining on instructional decision-making skills. The regions are therefore encouraged to develop effective, innovative and progressive strategies for implementing the curriculum and achieving its objectives.

6. This Office will be interested in receiving reports on innovations and implementing strategies within the framework of the new curriculum and within the community resources.

7. Immediate dissemination of this MEC Order is desired.

lncls .:

As stated

References:

Deoartment Crder: No. 10 s. 1970 Separtment l'.~emcrar:ca: 0Jos. ;ss. s. :977;

26 and 200, s. 1978 and 30, s. 1979

Allotment: 1-2-3-4 - (O.O. 1-76)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:

Course of Study, ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM PROGRAM, SCHOOL PUPILS TEACHERS

(SGD.) ONOFRE D. CORPUZ Minister

(lnc!osed 0.Jo. 1 to iVlEC Order No. 6, s. 1982)

THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Salient Features

Education at the elementary level is the country's major program for the delivery of mass and universal education to our people. It is seciety's main avenue for the development of civic and social values, particularly a sense of humanity and nationhood. It is also a means for developing the child's coping abilities which relate to values supportive of humanism, nationhood and development. It is, thus, expected that the development of basic literacy, numeracy, thinking and work skills will not only enhance learning capabilities but also

. values that will enable Filipinos to become productive,· self-reliant, versatile, civic-m'inded, physically fit and consequently, totally developed citizens.

The New Elementary School Curriculum (NESC) orients elementary education to national development requirements and reflects research-based directions (PCSPE, SOUTELE, EEP) for curricular charge. It is addressed to civic, intellectual and character development. Its scoce ccvers the generai educatio01 ::if the cnild - as J hLlman person, as a citizen and as a ;=~cduc:!ve agent. Its thrust is ir.tei:ec:uoi grc•111th, :hrougn which human/civic/economic/ cultural development is enhanced. It has the following new features:

- fewer learning areas; emphasis on mastery learning

- more time allotted to the development of the basic skills specifically the 3 R's, especially in the lower grades

- greater emphasis on the development of intellectual skills which are as important as work skills

- focus on the deve!opment of a sense of humanitv and nationhood in all the learning

- heaith values deveiopment infused into the whoie curriculum, not oniy in the period for character-building activities ar.d science and health

- the systematic development of competencies and values for social living reflected in the new dimension in Civics and Culture for Grades I and II; Civics and Culture expanded to include History, Geography and Work Ethic for Grade 111, and an indepth learning of History, Geography and Civics in Grades IV to VI.

(lnc!osure No. 2 to MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982)

OBJECTIVES

The Constitution of the Philippines

-Article XV, Section 4 of the 1973 Constitution states that:

All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship and develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological and vocational efficiency.

National Deve!o1Jment Goals (P.O. 6 A, 1972)

1. To achieve 3nd maintain an accelerating rate of economic development and sociai progress.

2. To assure the maximum participation of all the people on the attainment and enjoyment of the benefits of such growth.

3. To strengthen national consciousness and promote desirable cultural values in a changing world.

National Educational Aims (P.D. 6A, 1972)

Elementary Education is addressed to the first aim below. It is expected to provide the foundation for achieving the three other aims.

1. Provide for a broad general education that will assist each individual, in the peculiar ecology 9f his own society to:

a. attain his potential as a human being;

b. enhance the range and equality of individual and group participation in the basic functions of society, and

c. acquire the essential educational foundation for his development into a productive and versatile citizen.

2. Train the nation's manpower in the middle level skills required for national development;

:2v2!0~ ::;2 :1ign-;e'1ei ,0rr>.-2::;1cr.s ::h3t .\.'i;: ,:Jrc.viC.:; ·1j2~2;:hip ~er ~he r:3t:cn, JCvar:~~ knowledge through research, and appiy :iew knowledge for improving the quality of human life, and

Respond effectively to changing needs and conditions of the nation through a system of educational planning and evaluation.

Objectives of Elementary Education

The mission of elementary education is to enable every citizen to acquire basic preparation that will make him an enlightened,disciplined, nationalistic, self-reliant, God-loving, creative, versatile, and productive citizen in a national community.

The following objectives of elementary education, adopted from the 1970 Revised Elemen-tary Education Program, are still relevant today. ·

Elementary education shall aim to develoo the spirituai, .-norai, mental and pnvsic3I caoabi: :_ ties of the child, provide him with experiences in :he democratic way of life, and inc:..iicat:: ideas and attitudes necessary for enlightened, patriotic, upright and useful citizenship. To achieve these objectives, elementary education shail provide for:

1. the inculcation of spiritual and civic values and the development of a good Filipi!1o based on an abiding faith in God and genuine iove of country;

2. the training of the young citizen in his rights, duties and responsibilities in a democratic society for active participation in a progressive and productive home and community life;

3. the development of basic understanding about Philippine culture, the desirable tradi: tion and virtues of our people as essential requisites in attaining national consciousness and solidarity;

4. the teaching of basic health knowledge and the formulation of desirable health habits and practices;

5. the development of functional !itm1cy in the vernacular, in Pilipino and in English as basic toois for further learning; and

6. the acquisition of rundamer.u! .:;;o1\ /, O:]<', Jt:1rude~. habits and skills in science, civics, culture, history, geography, mathematics, arts and home economics and livelihood education and their intelligent application in appropriate life situations.

At the end of Grade VI, the child is expected to:

1. read proficiently labels, directions, notices, rules and regulations, advertisements, posters, letters, periodicals and other printed materials, and seek ways and means to continue learning on his own in Pilipino and English and, where applicable, Arabic.

2. write with proficiency names of persons, places, lists of purchases, simple notes, friendly and business letters and fill out all kinds of forms in Pilipino and English, and where applicable, in Arabic.

3. .express idea~ orally and in writing, in a clear and logical manner with little or no help, when sharing, in experiences with family and community, in Pilipino and in English and, where applicabl3, Arabic.

4. listen selectively and critically to the ideas presented in speeches, news, reports, propaganda, advertisements, soap operas, concerts, observing proper listening behavior, report accurately what one has I istened to when necessary.

(lnciosure No. 3 ~o MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982)

THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM

A. Time Allotment - Minutes Per Day

I Learning Areas Daily Time Allotment I

i I I II Ill IV v VI

Character Building 20-30 20-30 20 20 20. 20 Activities

Pitipino 60 60 60 60 60 60 English 60 60 60 60 60 60

I Mathematics 40 40 40 40 40 40 Civics and Culture 40 40 - - - -

( Hist./Geog./Work Ethic) 40 - - -

f-iisrnry ;Goaography/ '10 40 I .:10 -Civics

Science and Health 40 40 40 40

Arts and Physical 40 40 40 40 Educ. -

Home Economics and 40. 60 60 Livelihood Education

Total Minutes Daily 220-230 220-230 300 I 340 360 360

1. Character Building Activities shall serve as a vehicle for good manners and right conduct and the development of humanism and·a sense of nationhood.

2. Civics and Culture is a learning area in Grades I and II; the content of Civics and Culture in Grade 111 will be expanded to include History, Geography and Work Ethic. In Grade IV to VI, History, Geography and Civics will replace Civics and Culture.

3. Science and Health is combined as one learning area in Grades 111 to VI.

4. Arts and Physical· Education is one separate learning area in Grades 111 to VI. Arts ls defined as Music and Art.

5. Home Economics and Livelihood Education is introduced as learning area starting from Grades IV to VI.

6. In Grades I and 11, arts and physical education are integrated in the total curriculum since initial learning in language, mathematics and civics and culture is intertwined with activites in these learning areas.

5. c·omrute und solve ,::rccie.'.v:s ·e!ating :o occupations, business practices, m2asurement and estimation, income ano axpenses, taxes. rental rates and interest charges; gather and interpret data, using grap_hing and scaling and other matters related to the prob· lems of daily living.

6. apply scientific knowledge and skills in identifying and solving problems pertaining to: health and sanitation; nutrition; food production, preparation and storage ; and environment and the conservation of its resources and in evolving better ways and means of doing things.

7. share knowledge about local and national goi1ernment structure and functions, utilize available social services; exercise his rights and perform his obligations; and participate actively in the projects and programs of the government.

8. extend his identity from family, tribe and region to the country, the nation and the global community; manifest national loyalty and willingness to bear sacrifices for the nation.

9. utilize lessons from history in managing the present to attain a desired future; believe that :he. deveicpner.t of scc:er; desends upon the realizJtion of his ~ornntbis and ~hose of other members of societv and behave ac:;::;rciingiy.

10. give accurate information (e.g. natural resources, natural scenic spots, flora, fauna, etc.) about the geography of the Philippines and other countries and how it influences the way of I ife of the people.

11. show appreciation for the pride in indigenous and contemporary Filipino arts and culture by participating/attending cultural activities and lead-up games in school and in the community; manifest creativity, skills, and talent in the arts.

. . " . . . - ~

:-.1Jr:!~~er-;-;2nL .;t..;c:~ ..;s ,:r-:~:::~:::g =~~ ·:rn:i',' ~-e::;i:~--;, .nt2:1:~:::rY:: . .,.,.::2 ~~ .. :;~cwrccs. :,,;_,:: ~~-

acquired skills in at least one particuiar gainful occupation like farming, animal raising, fishing, handicrafts and simple trades.

13. show wholesome work habits, attitudes and values towards work efficiency and greater productivity. ·

14. distinguish between right and ~vrong, accept rights and obligations, manifest a sense of justice and equity and an abiding faith in God and in his capacity to maximize his potentials while affirming the purpose and meaning in life.

15. manifest physical fitness in accordance with the normal development of the child.

B. Time .W,llotment - Minutes ?er 'Neei<

Learning Areas Weekly Time Allotment

I II II I IV v VI -

Character Building 100-150 100-150 100 100 100 100 Activities

Pilipino ,

300 300 300 300 300 300 English 300 300 300 300 300 300 Mathematics 200 200 200 200 200 200 Civics and Culture

( H ist./Geog/Work 200 200 . 200 - - -Ethic)

History/Geography /Civics - 200 200 200 Science and Health 200 200 200 '200 Ar:s Jr.d Phvsicai Eciuc. 200 200 200 200

I I I ;_:,.:~-:::::- =~sncrn!c~ 2nc I I I .. . - . ' \ I

L.\/t:iinooc .=at..:cJtion 200 300 200

II 111 IV v VI

Minutes per week 1100-1500 1100-1500 1500 1700 1800 1800 Minutes per day 220-230 220-230 300 340 360 360 Hou rs per day 3-40"-4 3-40"-4 i:: 5-40" 6 6 ...,

i'Tlum work lead of teachers is six (6) hours per day. In the intermediate grades foHowing the 5-3 or 3-2 ratio of teachers to c!asses, the schedule sha!i be worked out so that no teacher shall be assigned more than 360 minutes of teaching.

C. LEARNING AREAS: A BRIEF DESCRIPTION

1. Character Building Activities

While the whole program will be infused with character deve!opment, the first 20-30 minute period in the daily program will focus on activities which contribute to character formation and wholesome personality development. It involves homeroom activities that will lead to the development of health habits, moral and spiritual values, love of country and concern for one's fellowmen. Pupils shall be encouraged and given the opportunity to plan and carry cut the activities. Pilipino or Enslish shall be used during this period.

266 : .. ~ii:pino

This area provides fer ::::e 11eio:Jment of :cmoetenc:es :n ~istening, speaking, reading, writing and thinking in Pilipino. listening competency includes such skills as auditory discrimination and comprehension; speaking: pronunciation, use of expressions and grammatical structures; reading: vocabulary development, recognition, comprehension and study skills; and writing: handwriting skills, composition and mechanics. For effective teaching, the specific skills constituting these competencies shall be developed in communication situations using many and varied materials to the point of mastery. ·

In Grades I and 11, the foundation cycle, mastery of the minimum learning competencies is intended for 100% of the learners. Listening, speaking, reading, writing and thinking skills shall be taught appropriate literary materials such as jingles, rhymes, poems, dialogs, etc. suited in the grade.

The daily period of 60 minutes in Grades I to VI in Pilipino may be divided into two periods, a 30-minute period in the morning and a 30-minute period in the afternoon.

This area provides for the development of competencies in listening, speaking, reading, writing and thinking in English. Listening competency includes such skills as auditory discrimination and comprehension; speaking: pronunciation, use of expressions and grammatical structures; reading: vocabulary development, recognition, comprehension and study skills; and writing: handwriting skills, composition and mechanics. For effective teaching, the specific skills constituting this competencies shall be developed in communication situations using many and varied materials to the point of mastery.

~enc~es is ir.tericed for 1co·;·; oT :htJ .e:r~crs. 1..::1iicren s;-1a1i cc ~=u~;;-... : J;:2rcQ1!2~2 literary materials such as jingles, rhymes, poems, dialogs, etc. suited to the grade.

The daily period 60 minutes in Grade l to VI in English may be divided into two periods, a 30-minute period in the morning ar.d a 30-minute period in the afternoon.

4. Mathematics

The daily period in mathematics in Grades I, 11 and 111 includes a study of the four fundamental operations, fractions, metric and local measurements, the use of money and their application to practical problems based on activities of real life.

In Grades IV, V and VI the child is expected to conceptualize the meaning of ratio and proportion, angles, plans and spatial figures and scales, maps and graphs.

Besides further development of the basic mathematical skills, the child is expected to solve problems related to business and industrial activities in the community.

The daiiv oericc of ..l0-1111:iut2s in Grades ! :o 'J ! ~nail oe sc::eaui2a in :!~e ·::nii'/ c:-:Jss prqrurn :is one Nnoie oioc~(, e.g., 40 minutes or :his <nay je divided :mo 0.vo :=-;riods, :n G(3des ; ar.a l i, a 20-minute period ;n the :norning and a 20-minute pericd in the afternoon.

5. Civics and Culture

This learning area deals with the study of the relationship of man to society and government; his role, duties and responsibilities, rights and privileges as a citizen of his country and the world.

It also deals with the development of: moral and spiritual values, pride in one's cultural heritage, proper nutrition, desirable health habits and creative self-expression through Music, Art and Physical Education.

The daily period of 40 minutes in Grades I and 11 may be divided into two periods, a 20-minute period in the morning and 20-minute i!1 the afternoon.

In Grade 111 the convent 'Nill be expanded to inc!ude History Geography and Work E~hic ~vilic:1 ,:Je'leioo Jn awareness of :he ·.vorld of ·,vor~ in :he horr.e and communi:1;.

6. History/Geography/Civics

This area is a learning package composed of History, Geography and Civics. It deals with the study of the evolution of human society with the individual as the central figure in this process of evolution, i.e., how people, ideas and events in the past he!ped shaped the present and how man manages the present in order to attain a ~·;=:~;-::! 'c--:·_:1-0; ;nd :irc2 -.:an :s -::he c2nu::il fic;ure of 1:his e•1olution, he must within

I. . - . . . . . . I . . . ,. . . . . 1ve ::nec-::1ve1y ir. his pnysica, soc1a1, sconom1c, ;:::011t1c;:i1 Jr;a :;:.J::ura1 2!T,1rcnmen-;:.

History, as a component of this learning package, provides a time continuum of people, problems and achievements, ideas and events in the past that have influenced the present; of changes and modifications in the structure of society brought about by the emergence of new, more and varied opportunities and benefits for the development of human potentials and of the intervention programs of the present societ'/ designed to attain a desired future.

Geography provides a spatial perspective of man's physical and socio economic environment and his ways of adapting to and managing it. It includes physical features such as land and water forms, climate, flora and fauna, location, altitude, directions, demography and adaptation, utilization, conservation and improvement.

Civics deals with the relationship of man and government, his role, duties and responsibilities and his rights and privileges as a citizen. Together with History and Geography, Civics provides many and varied experiences in which the learner develops feelings of pride, identity and loyalty to the country and nation transcending his pride in, identitY with the loyalty to his family, tribe or region.

7. Scienc~ and Health

Science and Health is introduced as a seoarate learning area sta~ing in Grade ! 11. This learning area aims to help the Filipino child gain a functional underst2nding of science concepts and principles, linked with real-life situations, acquire science skills as well as scientific attitudes and values needed in solving everyday problems pertaining to health and sanitation, nutrition, food production, and the environment and its conservation.

8. Arts and Physical Education

This learning area involves Music, Art and Physical Education. The teacher/teachers shall plan the 40-minute period in such a way that each area will receive equal time allotment and that situations be provided for the integration of learning iri the 3 areas to enable the child to express his feelings, ideas and imagination through music, art and physical education and other creative activities and projects intended to develop an awareness of an appreciation for our indigenous and contemporary arts.

Situations shali be provided for children to transiate what thev have learned into their wcrk, piay :ir.d recreational activities. While activeiy participating in 1arious im2res1: groups sucn 3S art and musicai organiz:;;tions and other performing groups, intramurals, scouting and recreational activities, they learn the basic body movements and game skills as well as art concepts and musical skills. As the children go through the grades, physical fitness and competencies in !ead-up games, musicality as well as creativeness in design and craft construction shall be further developed.

9. Home E:::cnomics and Livelihcod Education

-:-:- .~ is J =~.-:-:.~c:l '.23r1ing ar:;a ~er :Jav:: 2i~U ~:r . .3. I~ -.=.::....~2: c;; :r.e '._.-..:~;1e:cci-r~er:: jT

responsibie and worthy home membership that wiil !ead into the strengthening of the family. The activities shall emphasize the development of desirable work attitudes, basic work skills and habits through learning situations relevant to everyday chores at home, school and community and the production of useful articles.

Lt also covers phases of work in elementary agriculture, home economics, industrial arts, retail trade and other livelihood activities designed to develop awareness and interest in occupational jobs. In Grades IV to VI, concentration in at least one of these occupational or work skills is desirable.

'.lnciosure No. 4 rn i'vlEC Order No. 3, s. 1982)

A.M. --8:00- 8:20

8:20 - 8:50

8:50 -- 9:10

9:10 - 9:30 .

9:30- 9:45

9:45 -10:15

P.M. --1 :00 - 1 :30

'. -,"'\ _., . ;-: :;

1 :50 - 2:20

2:20 - 2:35

2:35 - 2:55

SAMPLE CLASS PROGRAMS

GRADES I and II

MINUTES

20 - 30*

20 I ' '

Total ........ 220 -- 230 Minutes*

LEARNING AREA

. Character Building Activities

Pilipino

Civics and Culture

Mathematics

R e c e s s

English

'·'~-'-~ ~- ~ ,/;t:..1.: .. _-;;;'~LlL,S

Pilipino

Recess

Civics and Culture

Time frame-range indicated to allow for flexibility. Programming must be flexible enough to allow for emphasis on le3rning areas not well learned.

GRADE Ill

TIME MINUTES·

I A.M. I --

8:00- 8:20 20

8:20- 8:50 30

8:50 - 9:30 40

9:30 - 10:00 30

10:00 - 10: 15 15

. : o: 1 s - 1 a: ss 40

1 :00 - 1 :30 30

1 :30 - 2: 10 40

2: 10 - :;;. ~o 30

2:40 - 2:55 15

2:55 - 3:35 40

Total 300 Minutes

LEARNING AREA

Character Building Activities

English

Science and Health

Pilipino

R e c e s s

c:vics and '.::..iiture (Hist/Geog/ Work Ethics)

Pilipino

Arts and Physical Education

English

R e c e s s

Mathematics

GR.~D':: :v

TIME MINUTES

8:00 - 8:20 20

8:20 - 8:50 30

8:50 - 9:30 40

9:30 - 10:00 30

10: 00 - 1 0: 1 5 15

10:15 - 10:55 40

1C:S5 - 11 .35 40

1 :()() - 1 :30 30

1 :30 - 2: 10 40

2: 1 0 - 2:40 30

.- "" -: . c::;:: ,_. -......,. - ..:.. ---2:55 - 3:35 40

Total ............. · 340 Minutes

I LEARNING AREA

Character Building Activities

English

Science and Health

Pilipino

Recess

Mathematics

History/Geography/Clvics

Pilipino

Arts and Physical Education

English

Recess

Home Economics and Livelihood Education

GRADES V AND VI

. TIME MINUTES LEARNING AREAS

A.M. --8:00- 8:20 20 Character Building

Activities

8:20- 8:50 30 Pili pi no

8:50- 9:30 40 H isti;>rv /Geography /Civics

9:30 - 10:00 30 English -10: 00 - 1 0: 1 5 15 R e c e s s . I

10: 1 5 - 1 0: 55 40 Mathematics

10:55 - 11 :35 40 Science and Health

1 :00 - 1 :30 30 English

1 :~G- 2:CO 30 Pilipino

2:00 -2:40 40 Arts and Physical Education

2:40 - 2:55 15 R e c e s s

2:55 - 3:55 60 Home Economics ~md Livelihood Education

Total . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 360 Minutes

Repubiika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines)

MINISTRI NG EDUKASYON, KUL TURA AT ISPORTS (MINISTRY OF EDUCATION CULTURE AND SPORTS)

Maynila

MECS 0 R D E R No. 19, s. 1983

May 4, 1983

CLARIFICATIONS ON THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM (NESC)

To: Bureau Directors Regional Directors Chiefs o'f Services and Heads of Units Schools Superintendents Presidents, State Colleges and Universities Heads of Private Schools, Coileges and Universities

1. To :ns~re .;ffec~ive :rr.p1e::.sr;-c2i:;onof the NESC beginning the school vear 1983-1984, some ciarificJtions on tir,-:e 21!otment and programming, teaching of certain :earning areas, etc., are given in the inc!osure to this Order.

2. This Office will welcome requests for further clarification in the interest of effecting a successfu I implementation of the N ESC.

3. Immediate dissemination of this MECS Order particularly at the teacher level is desired.

Inc!.:

As stated

Reference:

MEC Order: No. 6, s. 1982

Allotment: 1-2-3-4 - (0.0. 1-76)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:

Course of Study, E LENlENTARY CURRICULUM TEACHERS

·SGDJ ONOFRE C. CQF.?U:: Minister

(lnclosure to MECS Order No. 19, s. 1983)

SOME CLARIFICATION ON THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM (NESC)

1. On Time Allotment and Programming

A time frame-range is indicated to allow for flexibility. Programming must be flexible enough to provide for emphasis on learning areas not well learned. (Paragraph 3, MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982)

The time allotments given are minimum requirements. A school shall not reduce the time allotment suggested for any learning areas, but may increase it depending upon the need for more time to achieve mastery of expected emphasis on mathematics, it may lengthen the 40-minute period to 50 or 60 minutes dependlng upon the felt need. Time allotments. may change within the year as the need arises.

A school may provide extra study or seatwork or remedial work periods and thus, lengthen the child's school day in order to insure learning at a mastery level. It shall, however, maintain the basic structure of the curriculum.

A teacher may occ::isionally modify her c!ass program, e.g., rearrange and/or merge learning areas and extend the time allotment provided that the total time requirement for each area per week is observed.

2. On the Thrust of the NESC

Its thrust is intellectual growth through -.yhich human/civic/economic/cultural development is enhanced. (Paragraph 2, MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982)

' The Thrust of elementary education is 4-H development (head, heart, hand, health).

The school is the best place to develop the mind of the child. The child needs to deve!oo ~is mind in order tc eriharc2 his economic. physical, moral, social and cultural de'1cicpment. ~v'ViLhcu:: :n:2:~.=c:ua1 ~eveicp~er.t, he c:nncr !Jecome 2-F.ec::ive in -:~e

area of work.

3. On Character Building Activities (See Description of Learning Areas, lnclosure to MEC Order No. 6, s. 1982). ·

The Activities introduced in this period should lead to the development of a specific value/trait which may be derived from the dbserved beeds of the children or significant celebrations or historical events. The activities may involve story telling, discussion of happenings, role playing, dialogue, games, picture study, projects, agreement/commitment-making, homeroom activities involving parents, etc.

Health inspection shall be done systematically so that it shall not consume so much time and shall lead to the development of good health habits. Under no circumstances shall the period be used for ground improvement, collection of contributions and other unrelated activities.

4. Cn =nglish ;md P!lipino

ln the learning areas English and Pilipino, reading, language, phonics, spelling and writing shall be treated as skiils rather than separate subjects to be taught.

5. Sibika at Kultura (Civics.and Culture)

-Pilipino shall be the medium of instruction for this learning area.

APPENDIX K

EDUCATION IN CRISIS: CHALLENGE AND RESPONSE1

JAIME C. LAYA Minister of Education, Culture and Sports

I would like to think of conventions of schools superintendents as part of a long tradition that links the present with both the past and the future. We have in this hall people who worked with the pioneers of the Philippine educational system close to a century ago. In the same way, people present today will in turn influence the people who will be running the Filipino educational system in the next century. While the problems of here and now claim time and attention, it is important to address the long term, how we can make sure that the education system continues to anticipate and to be responsive to everchanging needs, how the education organization can continue to be strong and equal to its tasks, and how the next generation can be more fully prepared.

I therefore propose to focus on the need for planning for the future and for strengthening the ministry organization as key ingredients in ensuring the fulfillment of the ministry's mission.

Qudlily of Education There is enough

taking for granted the been declining. There situation.

evidence to indicate that educators are quality of Philippine education, which has is an urgent need for us to remedy this

Some studies indicate that the literacy rates of grade school and secondary school dropouts have fallen alarmingly over the past decade or so. The scores of college admission tests also indicate that students in the public school system tend to perform poorly, on the average, compared with students from the private schools. Comments of college teachers almost unanimously note a deterioration in the communication skills in both English and Filipino, as well as in substantive knowledge, of incoming freshman.

This may be due in part to faulty and non-comparable data, but could as well be attributed to the falling quality of teachers, the impact of the bilingual policy that was instituted some ten years ago, the discontinuation for a time of the adult education program, and perhaps the cumulative effect of ill-considered tinkering with curricula and textbooks.

The papers presented in this convention cover the ramif ications of this question, from the goals of the system, the poli-

1Keynote address.

cies, curricula, methods, and resources the strengths that need to be built upon and the weaknesses that need to be reinforced. Focus is given on the question of whether or not we are in fact doing the best for today's children who will become the leaders and citizens in the future.

Our task is to review the results of our efforts, and to assess where we stand in terms of meeting our aims to improve the literacy, comprehension, attitudes, and the substantive learning of our students, so that they may become fully actualized persons, responsible citizens and efficient producers in the future.

The most important changes now under way are within the ambit of PRODED and the new elementary school curriculum, under which a major effort is being made to improve the curricula, teacher preparation, facilities, textbooks and teaching materials, and educational administration.

Studies are under way to evaluate the results of the bilingual policy and the conceptual approach, two of the most important changes instituted during the 1970s. Literacy rates, national college entrance examination results, and other statistical indicators of educational performance are being refined and analyzed so that we may all have a better mechanism with which to gauge success and to adjust our work.

We are looking anew into the possibilities of using broadcast and media-based education as a ;means of attaining a quantum improvement in educational quality within a minimum lead time. The regular "Tulong Aral" program and an ad hoc "Radio Class" are initial efforts at broadcast learning as a means of improving the quality of classroom teaching through the use of the media. The former is a television program that focuses on science, mathematics, economics, and other subjects where teacher preparation is frequently a problem, and is structured to go hand in hand with specific class lessons. The latter is an elementary school on the air program that was tried out successfully during a Metro Manila teacher strike and which could be employed as a regular feature in areas where the lack of teachers is a problem.

The Marcos Library program has been started, initially aiming for a 10, 000-volume elementary and high school library in each province and large city. This will make the world of knowledge accessible to students in those places. We recognize that available resources render impossible the ideal of a good library in every school.

The curricular enrichment program seeks to make available to teachers those materials upon which they could draw for purposes of improving the content of their class lessons. The priority interests of the government and the ministry, namely, population education, school health and nutrition, sports, music and the arts, economic knowledge, and the Filipino Ideology, are a part of the enrichment process. The program will yield teacher-oriented books that contain supplementary material and teaching tips, but not lesson plans so as to leave room for teacher initiative and imagination.

Concrete results are now visible in the cultural field,

where enough material has already been compiled on folk culture. Teachers should impart this knowledge so that both they and their students would be aware of the culture of their forefathers, and in order that they could develop more fully certain values and attitudes related to nationhood and pride in being Filipino.

The children who enter Grade I this year will finish college in 1999, in time to confront the challenges of the different world of the 21st century. Preparing them adequately for this new and unknown world is the heavy responsibility that we bear. They have to be better at the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, or, as others would put it, at communication (in English and Filipino) and logical and quantitative thinking. Their values must be those that we want the Filipino to possess. And it will be a must for them to have greater facility in science, mathematics, technology and computers.

Ministry Personnel Policy and Practice

It is recognized that the most important ingredient in education is the teacher. Students can learn without books, desks, and all other educational resources for as long as there is a good teacher in the classroom.

Having enough good teachers in the public school system is perhaps the most important objective that we need to adopt. This can be assured in the long run only by enhancing the status of the teaching profession that has sadly declined over the years due to poor compensation and poor working conditions and an environment that needs change.

The ministry is the largest in government in terms of geographic coverage and number of people. Its management and administration is a difficult task that requires close attention. Funding is so inadequate that all efforts must be taken to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Salaries are so low and agitators ever on the rise that we have to contend with teacher strikes and similar disruptions. Supervision is so decentralized that we have to guard against petty tyrants who, away from effective control from superiors, impose their wi 11 on their subordinates.

The most important components of the education system are people teachers, education support personnel, students, parents, and the public. Without sufficient motivation, preparation and training, and supervision, we cannot have the strong education system needed to met.::t our challenges and achieve our goals.

Career Attraction. Foremost among the administrative challenges that we face is the provision of adequate compensation for teachers and support personnel. Unless salaries are upgraded, the attractiveness of the teaching profession will be eroded, and the quality of the teaching and the degree of preparedness of the nest generation will likewise suffer. We may no longer have enough good teachers in the future, like in the mold of Camilo Osias, Francisco Benitez, Geronima Pecson, Pedro Ora ta, and of

the pillars that form part of the edifice of the strong education system that we inherited from our fathers.

How many high school valedictorians and salutator ians now even consider teaching as a career? I do not think it would still need a study to conclude that education is no longer as attractive a career as it used to be in years past.

The Philippine educational system has already undergone a sex change. Not too long ago, teachers used to be referred to in the masculine. A teacher was a "he." Now, even MECS orders refer to teachers in the feminine: a teacher is now a 11 she. 11 This implies that teaching can no longer be the primary income source of a family. The principal breadwinner has to find sustenance elsewhere and teaching can only be a secondary source of family income. We must try to control this trend and, if possible, reverse it. The answer can only lie in improved compensation, better working conditions and sufficient challenges for professional growth.

Selection. There are many applicants for teaching positions particularly in urban areas, including new graduates, transferees from barrio schools to poblacion schools, and transferees to more convenient schools. It should be clear that staff selection has to be on the basis of the proper criteria, that is, qualifications, teaching potential, experience, and not on the basis of some extraneous consideration.

If at all there are district supervisors, principals, and superintendents who make a choice on basis other than professional criteria, we must immediately put a stop to this most insidious from of corruption and destruction that only breeds disillusionment for everyone concerned.

Training. The professional advancement of the ministry's staff requires a systematic training program that consists not only of seminars on specific priority topics of both the ministry and the government, or of training on new textbooks, but also of graduate studies and other professional development activities. Trainees should be identified carefully and the job assignments of those who have already completed training should be carefully mapped.

Promotion. Only the cream should rise to the top: only the best should succeed in reaching the top of the profession. If promotion and advancement are based on grounds other than perfornictnce, qualifications and other similar objective criteria, then there would be a weak and possibly abusive supervisory force and a demoralized supervised staff.

The responsibility for a fair promotions system rests with district supervisors, superintendents and regional directors because they are the ones who are able to identify the good material. If there are people who make promotions based on er i ter ia other than merit, then they are con tributing to the weakening and demoralization of the system;.

Most of the complaints that have reached me have to do with fairness. People question the fairness of the choices for transfer and promotion to master teacher or principal, for up-

grading from principal I to principal II, the selection of district supervisors and even the selection of assistant superintendents and superintendents.

Acting on these complaints has been a difficult task because of the sheer number of people who have to be evaluated on the basis of frequently subjective standards by more than one person. Still, we must try our best to make sure that we identify the best person for the job. Attracting and retaining the best teachers in the face of poor compensation is difficult enough without being complicated by corruption and demoralization in the ranks.

Career Progression. The existing system provides for distinct career progression systems for persons who prefer to move up to administration or to remain in the classroom. One career path leads from classroom teacher to head teacher, then to principal, and to district supervisor; from assistant superintendent to superintendent, to assistant regional director, then to regional director and higher.

Master teachers face a kind of dead end. They could presumably retire as classroom teachers with the pay perhaps of a district supervisor, or, if the program proceeds to its logical conclusion, even with the pay of an assistant superintendent or higher official. We might look into the possibility of broadening career possibilities for master teachers by encouraging them to aspire for positions in the staff bureaus and for staff positions at regional and division offices, as against giving preference to administrators who have already been many years removed from technical matters.

Staff offices need people with field experience because they are the ones who are supposed to work on the curriculum, teaching methods, the measurement of results, and innovations, which are technical in nature, rather than people whose functions are administrative or supervisory in character. The best preparation for research would be familiarity with field practices in a particular area, given of course sufficient preparation in current research and research methodology.

Job Rotation. The objectives of staff training and development and organizational effectiveness both support a policy of job rotation. Time was when the superintendent of a large division was chosen from among superintendents of the medium divisions and the superintendent of a medium-sized division came from among the superintendents of a small division. Before one could become superintendent of a small division, he must have first been an assistant superintendent of a large division, an assistant superintendent of a medium division, an assistant superintendent of a small division, and must have passed the superintendent's examination.

There is a great deal of merit in the job rotation system, for it not only screens people very well but gives them good training as well. The career progression and evaluation process, being systematic and lengthy, exposes the prospective senior official to a variety of experiences, situations and personalities. Before anyone could become a superintendent of a truly

large, complex and difficult division, he would have already been exposed to the range of situations, problems and options that may be encountered in the superintendency.

There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to that scheme. There is the expense and inconvenience of moving the hardships on family life. However, a return to the old system also deserves consideration during these times when the importance of a strong supervisory force has become greater than ever. The tendency to advance within the same schools division unnecessarily limits the horizons of our people and the field of choice in filling vacancies.

Retirement. We are implementing strictly the policy of requiring officials to retire promptly at age sixty-five, not because a person loses talent, skill and energy upon reaching that age. Room is always limited at the top, more so in an organization with 350,000. Morale becomes a problem when promotion at senior levels gets blocked because people stay longer than their alloted time.

It is essential to make room for good people as part of good personnel administration. How can a system be effective if subordinates retire ahead of superiors? This is one way through which we can make career advancement as one of the attractions of service in the ministry.

A policy of prompt retirement has to go hand in hand with a wide field of choice of successors. There seems little point in promptly retiring an excellent superintendent only to replace him with one of two incompetent assistant superintendents. We can make sure of the best possible choice only if the field is broad enough and not limited to the assistant superintendents in the same division.

Teaching as a Profession. In addition to being administrators or classroom teachers, ministry staff members are also professionals. As such, it is presumed that they maintain an interest in the technical aspects of education and that they constantly, perhaps even unconsciously, observe, analyze generalize, and ultimately recommend and communicate their observations and findings to others in the profession or to the proper authorities.

Medicine, for example, is considered a profession not only because doctors practice it, but also because there are numerous medical researchers who study diseases, new cures, and generally ensure the advancement of medicine. So also it must be in education.

Advances in education cannot originate merely as policy directives from above, from bureaucrats for whom research is frequently no more than the memory of dissertation work done in the distant past. They should come from teachers, from district supervisors, professors and members of the teaching profession who are observing what is happening, who are doing research and writing articles, satisfying professional curiosity, and proving or disproving hypotheses.

With an organization of 350,000 people, all of whom are pro-

fessionals trained in tests and measurement, and in the philosophy and technology of education, one can only guess at the infinity of ideas and improvements that could arise from a concerted research effort. Certainly, the diversity of theses produced by masters and Ph. D. students in education indicates the richness of potential research that could be done in education.

We sometimes seem first to innovate and then proceed to justify the innovation. We find out only too late that the innovation may have caused more harm than good. We must therefore try develop the necessary environment and intellectual climate so that research can flourish as an integral part of ministry life. we can then come to depend upon research results for purposes of charting the future of Philippine education.

Summary. Close at tent ion to personnel policy is vital to ensuring an effective ministry. The organization should consist of the best people with the high morale needed to sustain them in times of difficulty. We still have enough good people in the ministry to carry and pass on to our successors the torch that has been passed on to us by the people who came before. This is possible only with good personnel policy.

We need to have a good policy and practice on such matters as hiring, training, performance evaluation and promotion, and retirement. All these go together in making sure that the ministry becomes an ideal work setting.

Administrative Practices

The limited funding of the ministry underscores the need for tightly controlling administrative routines. This way, we could gain the maximum benefit from the little that we have and be able to direct our resources toward solving problems such as the lack of classrooms, textbooks, desks and other equipment, and teaching materials.

The ministry budget is P6.5 billion, 90 per cent of which goes to personnel services. Only about 10 per cent goes to maintenance and operations and capital outlays. We must make sure that this 10 per cent is used for maximum effect. Local School Board funds constitute a major funding supplement, but reports are rife concerning the misuse or low priority uses of these funds.

We can achieve much by reexamining what some may feel are minor administrative details. For instance, teachers frequently complain about having to fill out too many school forms. I understand we have about a hundred different forms supposed to be filled up by people in the field. These, in turn, have to be summarized by principals, district supervisors, superintendents, and regional offices. At best they are evaluated and analyzed and ultimately considered for national policy making; at worst they are bundled up an stored without further thought.

The Development Academy of the Philippines was asked to study our forms and procedures. They came up with some interest-

ing findings and concluded that some forms could be eliminated since they contained information that nobody used. Some forms could also be combined, thus saving on paper.

Attention to the purchase of forms could save us millions of pesos both from national government and Local School Board funds. I understand, for instance, that if a school teacher were to by a student register form from a sari-sari store using her own money, she could buy it for P5. This same form is supposed to be provided at the approved price of P30. So how does one account here for the difference of 25 pesos? This is just one of the many basically simple administrative matters that can be looked into.

I can also cite what happens in the wake of typhoons. Reports normally follow on missing textbooks. I have always assumed that textbooks are checked out by the students and brought home, so that even if a typhoon were to hit their place, chances are that most of the textbooks would remain intact because certainly not all homes would be swept away. It turns out, though, that in many cases the textbooks are kept in the schools because the teachers are made accountable for them.

I believe that this administrative detail may have made a great deal of difference in the quality of education in those schools that have adopted this practice. It may imply that students do not read at home and that they do not have any homework. It could also mean that class time is devoted not to amplifying what is in the textbooks but simply to reading what is in the textbooks. An administrative measure may have created a major unintended negative development. I have therefore asked the Textbook Board Secretariat to review this particular policy.

The computer age is upon us and we should proceed with the identification and utilization of computers in educational operations. PRODED has initiated a computer usage project in schools to identify administrative and class use possibilities. A cheap computer costs something like P20-30 thousand, cheaper even than a sophisticated electric typewriter. Grades could be computed and school forms accomplished with minimum manpower requirements. Certainly, the ministry cannot buy computers for everybody, but we would be able to gradually chip away at the problem and ultimately see to expanded computerization.

Planning the Future of Education

As in most other government off ices, the planning and budget process of the ministry has tended to look only one year ahead. We normally look only at the problems that the next school year might bring, in the same way that agencies of the government try to look at the problems of the next crop year or the next health year.

It is possible for us in the education system to do better than this. President Marcos recognized this particular fact when, in January 1984, he issued LOI No. 1372 directing the preparation of a long-term financial plan for education. I am happy to report that after months of hard work, the Planning Service and the

Finance Service have completed the first draft of a ten-year financial plan for education. I believe that this is one of the most significant accomplishments of the ministry.

Education Financial Planning. The planning and budget process is very interesting and straightforward.

There are 53 million Filipinos. New babies are born every day. More children will reach the age of seven in any given year. we can estimate how many Grade I children there will be during a given year, how many Grade II children there will be in the following year, and so on. Having set a target class size, we can then compute the number of teachers needed for each grade level, for the total education system, or for whatever division, region or school we may choose.

By making specific assumptions concerning compensation rate increases, one can then estimate how much would be needed for personnel, and also of the number of children, one can proceed to estimate the number of needed desks, textbooks, classrooms, etc. These can be laid out in physical quantities and, ultimately, in money terms.

The education financial plan has been computerized, and this has taken a lot of work and patience. The framework of the planning process has been designed and expenditure projections have been made. Income sources still have to be identified, and ultimately, the expenditure projections and assumptions will have to be scaled down and rescheduled to fit within whatever is a reasonable resource availability assumption. The planning process is iterative and the computer program has to be run over and over using different assumptions and revenue projections. Even at this stage, however, we can be proud of our work which is probably matched by few other organizations in the Philippines or education ministries elsewhere.

A short-term outlook inevitably leads to short-term and make-do solutions. We find makeshift classrooms, inflate class sizes, share desks and books, all on an ad hoc basis, once the last student shows up at the beginning or-the school year. Our people have always been resourceful and innovative, but making do and stretching the capacity of available resources to accommodate an ever-increasing student population can be expected to result in continued deterioration in educational standards.

We have to do better than this and look further ahead. if we do not fully anticipate the magnitude of future needs and problems, the time will inevitably come when there will be nothing left to stretch.

Compensation Goals. It is unfortunate that many people equate the financial plan which we are currently formulating with the timetable for reaching a monthly pay of P3,000. The financial plan is more than this. It is an estimate of the physical resources and the funds needed to be able to meet the educational needs of the children already born and yet to be born, providing for sufficiently good teachers, books, classrooms, and other inputs that will help make the hope of the fatherland truly prepared for the future.

The financial plan includes an estimate of the amount needed to meet compensation targets. The benchmark of government policy is contained in the Magna Carta for Teachers passed in 1966. Among others, the Magna Carta provided for a living wage that was supposed to be systematically adjusted to make up for cost of living increases. It also made certain commitments about retirement benefits, additional compensation for non-teaching services rendered, and so on.

The legislators who passed the Magna Carta included the prudent proviso that implementation is subject to the availability of funds. Taking the law at its word, the financial plan makes an effort to compute how much a school teacher should receive in 1985 to have the same purchasing power that he had in 1966. The computation shows that the income of Pl7,300 a year in 1985 is equivalent to the teacher's income in 1966. About P4,000 more in 1985 will achieve the said purchasing power parity.

The Magna Carta must have envisioned a somewhat higher compensation level in 1966, or the law would not have been necessary. The staff therefore tested various other options, seeking to make up for the deficiency in purchasing power over the past 19 years. Certain salary upgradings were assumed, linked to NEDA projections of inflation rate, resulting in a 1990 basic salary of P3,000. The portion of the financial plan having to do with personnel accordingly represents the estimation of the targets under the Magna Carta. The ministry budget proposal for 1986 constitutes the first year of the ten-year projection.

Financing Sources. The next and more difficult step, after making expenditure projections, is to identify funding sources. In any government service activity such as ours, there are really only four sources of financing.

1. The Present Education Budget. We have to use our money more efficiently. Available teaching positions have to be deployed for maximum efficiency. Teachers cannot be detailed to nonteaching positions, or assigned to undersized classes, or allowed to handle ghost students. Our maintenance and operations funds must be used efficiently. Schoolbuildings must be built where needed by students and not out of non-education factors.

Priorities within the education sector have to be carefully reviewed, not necessarily by the ministry alone, but by the budgetary authorities and the Batasang Pambansa. The budgets of past years have not always fully recognized the relative funding claims of elementary, secondary and higher education (in the state college and university system), and as a result, many feel that there is a bias against elementary education in favor of secondary and higher education.

The Constitution requires free elementary education and further states that the state may support secondary or tertiary education, finances permitting. This is probably in recognition of the importance of elementary education as a foundation for secondary and higher education and of the feeling that, in the very least, this generation must leave to the next one a basic six-year education. I do not thing any of us will maintain

seriously that we already have the best elementary education system that is possible.

This is why the ministry has taken a position favoring elementary schools and the position that incremental budgetary resources for education should be given to elementary education rather than to the higher levels. We are resisting the nationalization of more high schools and the upgrading of more secondary schools to colleges and of colleges to universities, or the creation of more state colleges and universities, in the thinking that each of these decisions takes a little bit more from elementary education.

2. Additional Budgetary Support for Education. Demonstrators frequently adopt the battlecry: reduce the military' s or some other unspecified agencies' budget and give it to education. From a narrow viewpoint, we would of course welcome additional money regardless of the source. However, it is a fact that the military, too, is under funded. Soldiers receive less than teachers. I would leave this kind of a decision to the Batasang Pambansa, which is in a better position to judge sectoral priorities.

3. Non-Budgetary Revenues. We could try to raise revenues from sources other than regular budgetary allocations, including student fees, canteens, the cultivation of school grounds, vocational-technical activities, and cottage industries conducted under the aegis of the school.

We are exploring the possibility of generating revenues out of the Arroceros compound which is more suitable for commercial rather than government office use.

We are also exploring the possibility of organizing a lottery (the "lot to game" to be specific) for educational improvement, something that is done in such places as New Hampshire and California in the United States. This would be much like the juvenile game of chance where a child pays a coin, picks out a rolled-up piece of paper from a mounted poster, and claims (if he is lucky) the toy that is drawn on the paper that he picked. The adult version is to buy a card from suitable outlet and to scrape off a covered portion, which then reveals the amount of money (if any) that he has won ...

Language. Present language policy calls for proficiency in both Pilipino and English. This is not always understood. Some people seem to think that the bilingual policy favors mixing up English and Pilipino in a combined language. The result is the unfortunate lack of proficiency in both languages, the rise of a new pidgin tongue.

The thinking also appears to be that the objective of prof iciency in the two languages can be attained by teaching courses in one or the other languages can be attained by teaching courses in one or the other language, in accordance with the bilingual policy as it is now applied. An analysis of the communication skills of recent graduates and schoolchildren seems to indicate that the policy has reduced both communication and comprehension skills. The situation is complicated by considerations of nationalism put forward by people who favor Pilipino as a medium of

instruction because English is a foreign tongue. The language issue is universally explosive and divisive, and a thorough assessment of the impact of the present language policy would perhaps be necessary.

Subject Matter Content. Some people are quick to comment that the education system is not relevant and that the Filipino is miseducated. At the same time, the very same people sometimes say that we teach far too many agricultural and vocational courses, bowing to the wishes of the World Bank and the IMF. It seems as if the basic purposes of education -- to develop communication, analytical and livelihood skills, as well as proper values and attitudes -- are not enough. Perhaps all of us should give this matter further thought.

Ccllege Admis;:;ions. Many have noted that graduates of barangay vocational-technical, fishery, and other public high schools tend to perform poorly in the National College Entrance Examination. They then proceed to argue that the NCEE should therefore be abolished, as it limits access to tertiary education. The very same people, however, assert that we have too many unemployed college graduates. There is an inconsistency here. The lesson to be learned here is that entrance to college should perhaps be restricted in order that more people can be channelled to technical courses thereby minimizing the number of unemployed college graduates. The testing philosophy should be considered separately from the even more serious problem of how to improve public secondary education in order that its graduates who may wish to go on to college could be as well prepared as those who attend private schools.

Source: Education and Culture Journal 1 (April-December 1985).

APPENDIX L

PHILIPPINE INDICATORS 1965 - 1985 (Excerpts)

INTRODUCTION

Our mission in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports is to prepare the next generation for life. We seek to develop the proper attitudes, to teach them how to read and write, to think logically, to think quantitatively. We seek to enable the young to reach their full inborn potential and to prepare them to become responsible citizens and productive and self-reliant adults.

We recognize that the world of the 21st century is different from the world of today, as the present is different from the past. The MECS, therefore has the awesome task of looking ahead, beyond the problems of the present. It is our responsibility to build upon the strengths of the past, to anticipate and plan for the future.

This pamphlet seeks to present the record of the education system over the past two decades, by way of underscoring both accomplishments and deficiencies, the better to pinpoint continuing areas of necessary emphasis.

Enrollment. There are some 13.6 million students in the education system, of whom 8.8 million are in the elementary grades, 3.3 million in high schools and 1.5 million in colleges. The public school system accommodates a total of 10.4 million students at all levels, including 94 percent of elementary school enrollment. One fourth of the total population is in school.

This has required the opening of more and more schools, numbering 39,396 in all as of 1985, of which 31,440 are public elementary schools. More teachers and school personnel have been employed, more schoolrooms constructed. Scholarship and loan programs have been expanded in order to accommodate the deserving but needy students. Non-formal education programs have been organized, in order to accommodate the out of school youth, providing for t.hei r ul L. ima te return to the school sys tern through the Philippine Equivalency Placement Test. Barangay and other local schools receive increasing national funding assistance.

Teachers. There are 441 thousand schoolteachers, including 344 thousand public schoolteachers, from elementary to collegiate level, the largest single group of civil servants. There are 272 thousand public elementary schoolteachers alone.

Curriculum. The elementary school curriculum has been modified in response to the needs of the country and in anticipation of the future.

The curriculum has been improved over the years, the most recent change being a streamlining of the courses in the elementary school level, in the New Elementary School Curriculum under

a World Bank-funded Program for Decentralized Educational Develop-ment (PRODED). It calls for a return to the basics and a greater infusion of values and attitudes development in the curriculum. Books, teacher training, research, buildings and equipment im-provement are supported by PRODED.

Parallel approaches are being taken at the secondary and tertiary levels, including greater coordination among state universities and colleges.

A bilingual policy was introduced in 1973, whereby some courses are taught in English and others in Filipino. The aims were to foster a greater sense of nationhood and to increase subject matter learning.

Budget Support. The effort to accommodate an increasing enrollment and to improve upon the quality of education requires tremendous resources, in the form of teachers, classrooms, desks, books, and the other materials necessary to basic education .

The total budget for the MECS and the 77 chartered state universities and colleges comes to P8.0 billion in 1985, accounting for 13. 7 percent of the total national budget. Adding the cost of the schoolbuilding program, national aid to local schools, and other education-related expenditures of other government agencies, the total share of education and manpower development is about 15 percent of the 1985 national budget. Most local government units also support education, through their respective local high schools and colleges/universities.

The percentage share of education in the total national budget had declined over the years, even as the absolute amount had grown from P599 million in 1965 to P8.0 billion in 1985. All sectors, including education have responded to the needs for energy and food, two of the needs that had to be attended to in the 1970s, with the onset of the international energy crisis.

To educate each elementary school child, the national government spends P481 per year. The average national high school and state university or college student is subsidized to the extent of 94 percent of total education cost. The average state university or college student in effect receives some P6,000 in education subsidy, representing the appropriations per student of such institutions.

A state scholar gets P7, 000 per year, plus allowances for graduation, thesis writing and review expenses. Student loans come to P5,000 a year for degree courses and P3,500 a year for non-degree courses.

Compensation. The compensation of public schoolteachers is acknowledged to be inadequate, even as we note that the lowest paid elementary grade teacher received P2,196 per annum in 1965 vs. Pl2,636 per annum in 1985, an increase of 5.75 times. Government recognizes the vital importance of increasing teacher salary, crucial as it is to a strong education system. In 1978, practically all available salary adjustment funds went to schoolteachers. In 1984-85, the government revived the equivalent record from (ERF) system which had been suspended for some years, and upgraded the Master Teacher program. In 1986, the General

Appropriations Act provides for the one-step adjustment of MECS staff members.

Private Schools. Private schools account for most of tertiary level enrollment, BS percent in 1985. ensuring the vigor of this important part of the school system has called for the adoption of a more liberal student fee policy in 1985. Many private schools had started scaling down operations due to the limited fee increases allowed in the face of large cost increases experienced in recent years. The policy allows the student fee increases needed for schools to at least break even and earn a modest return on investment.

At the same time, the government encourages a policy of voluntary accreditation, both in public and private schools, as a means of seeing to the attainment of minimum education standards.

Special Programs. The MECS conducts special programs for the improvement of health and nutrition, population education, continuing education for the out of school youth, classes for handicapped and gifted alike, and innovative activities in broadcast or media-based education and computer education.

New priorities established in 1984-85 include broadcast or media-based education, the Marcos Library program for developing school libraries all over the country, remedial programs for secondary schools, the rehabilitation of the Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA), a revitalized in-service training program for schoolteachers, adoption of general voluntary accreditation standards, improvements in the management of state universities and colleges and technical/vocational schools, closer linkages between cultural agencies and the school system, and improvements in the administration and priority system in Special Education fund resources.

The school system must continue to grow, to evolve, to raise standards, so that the students, the people manning the system and the nation as a whole can reap the benefits expected of a good education system. The wealth of a country is in its people, who, if in possession of the skills and expertise which make them self-reliant, can make this nation self-sufficient, strong and an effective member of the world's community of nations.

JAIME C. LAYA Minister of Education, Culture and Sports January 15, 1986

Source: Philippine Indicators 1965 - 1985.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 293

Item 1965 1975 1985

1. NATIONAL BUDGET, MECS BUDGET AND sues BUDGET

a. National Budget 2,102,363,873 14,499,714,500 58,328,941,000 b. MECS Budget 555,250,130 1,643,183,000 6,145 ,907,000 c. % of National Budget 26.41 11.33 10.54 d. SUCs Budget 43,200,000 385,727,000 1,842,991,000 e. % of National Budget 2.05 2.66 3.16 f. MECS and SUCs Budget 598,450, 130 2,028,910,000 7,988,898,000 g. % of National Budget 28.47 13.99 13.70

2. TOT AL ENROL\1.ENT - ALL LEVELS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 7,515,000 10,695,000 13,621,000

(SY 1965-66) (SY 1975-76) (SY 1984-85)

a. Elementary Enrolment 5,815,000 7,683,000 8,794,000 b. Secondary Enrolment 1,173.000 2,240,000 3,323,000 c. Tertiary enrolment 527,000 772,000 1,504,000 d. Public Elementary 554,000 7,284,000 8,270,000 e. Private Elementary 261,000 399,000 524,000 f. Public Secondary 442,000 1,010,000 1,909,000 g. Private Secondary 731,000 1,230,000 1,414,000 h. Public Tertiary 59,000 106,000 230,000 1. Private· Tertiary 468,000 666,000 1,274,000

3. TOT AL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS -ALL LEVELS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 24,880 36,624 39,396

(SY 1965-66) (SY 1975-76) (SY 1984-85)

a. Elementary Schools 21,877 30,962 32,809 b. Secondary Schools 2,537 4,908 5,430 c. Tertiary Institutions 466 754 1,157

d. Public Elementary Schools 21,053 29,854 31,440

e. Private Elementary Schools 824 1,108 1,369 f. Public Secondary Schools 924 2,883 3,354

g. Private Secondary Schools 1,613 2,025 2,076

h. Public Tertiary Institutions 26 126 319 1. Private Tertiary Institutions 440 628 838

4. TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS -ALL LEVELS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 239,595 344,278 440,805

(SY 1965-66) (SY 1975-76) (SY 1985-86)

a. Elementary Teachers 184,938 248,850 284,337 b. Secondary Teachers 31,668 61,740 99,468 c. Tertiary Teachers 22,989 33,688 57,000 d. Public Elementary Teachers 177,207 238,821 272,162 e. Private Elementary Teachers 7,731 10,029 12,175 f. Public Secondary Teachers 12,195 29,600 61,750 g. Private Secondary Teachers 19,473 32,140 37,718 h. Public Tertiary Teachers 2,996 4,640 9,654 1. Private Tertiary Teachers 19,993 29,048 47,346

5. ENROLMENT TO POPULATION RATIO

a. National Population b. Total Enrolment (All levc:ls,

public and private:)

c. Ratio to National Population d. Elementary Enrolment c:. Ratio to National Population f. Secondary Enrolment g. Ratio to National Population h. Tertiary Enrolment i. Ratio to National Population

6. GRADUATION RATES- ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

a. Enrolment - Grade VI

b. No. of Graduates c. Graduation Rate d. Enrolment - IV Year c:. No. of Graduates f. Graduation Rate

7. Teachers Salaries 1-1-65: EGT 2 t"2,196 EGT 3 2,544 EGT 4 2,676

EGT 5, SST 5,

32,345,000

7,S15,000 (SY 1965-66)

23.23% 5,815,000

17.98% 1,173,000

3.63% 527,000

646,637 (SY 1965-66)

548,651 84.85%

228,368 200,964 88.00%

1-1-76: t"5,444.40 5,695.20

ESHT 3 (BSEE) 2,808 5,946.00 ESHT 4, SSHT II (BSEE + 20)- 2,952 1-1-76 6,223.20 ESHT 5, SSHT III (MA) 3,109 6,513.60

8. Educational Loans/Scholarship Programs

a. Study Now-Pay-Later Plan

42,517,000 53,351,000

10,695,000 13,621,000 (SY 1975-76) (SY 1984-85)

25.15% 25.53% 7,683,000 8,794,000

18.07% 16.48% 2,240,000 3,323,000

5.27% 6.23% 772,000 1,504,000

1.82% 2.82%

982,618 1,186.353 (SY 1975-76) (SY 1984-85)

889,143 1,073,146 90.49% 90.46%

439,330 680,285 420,536 618,026

95.72% 90.85%

1-1-85: EGT 3, SST 3 EGT 4, SST4

t"12,636 13,200

EGT 5, SST 5 13,824 ESH 3, SST I

1-1-85 EHST 4, SSHT II 14,448

ESH 5, SSHT III 15 ,804

Disbursements SY 1976-77 ?"3,827,739.33 SY 1980-81: n2,563,563.09 (by GSIS, SSS, SY 1985-86: ~112,900.549.52 PNB, DBP, LBP)

b. State Scholarship 1969: 1,000,000 1975: !"2,000,000 !"10,560,000 Program

c. National Integration Study Grant Program 1974: 3,675,539 1980: 16,840,000 22,228,000

d. Selected Ethnic Groups Educ. Assistance Program 1978: 1,574,000 3,960.000

c:. Work Study Grant Program for Southern Philippines 1977: 800,000 17,428.000

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS' ACHIEVEMENT

An idea of the scholastic achievement of elementary school pupils in the last 20 years may be gleaned from the findings of three research studies, namely: SOUTELE (Survey of Outcomes of Elementary Education), 1975-1977; EEEP (Experimental Elementary Education Program), 1979-1980; and NESC (New Elementary School Curriculum) 1983-present.

The results of the tests in English, Pilipino and Mathematics achievement conducted under these studies are shown in the table below.

Grade Level

III IV v

Results of National Achievement Tests

SO UTE LE

41.09 38.89

Overall Mean Percentage Scores

39.27 44.08 42.86 50.72 '38.42 46.21

As may be seen in the foregoing table, there has been some improvement in pupils' progress through the years in three basic areas of learning: English, Pilipino and Mathematics.

1. A remarkable achievement is noted in Grade I, from 39.27 under EEEP in 1980 to 56.25 under NESC in 1984.

2. Grade IV under SOUTELE in1977 achieved 41.09, and 50.72 under EEEP in 1980.

Since both the EEEP and NESC were set up in response to SO UTE LE 's recommendation for decongesting the curriculum, the increase in pupil achievement may be attributed to a curriculum that has been decongested accordingly which allows more time and opportunity for employing mastery learning strategies in the teaching of the 3 R's.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS

From SY 1965-1966 to SY 1984-1985, the number of elementary schools increased from 21, 877 to 32,809 - or by 50 percent.

During the same period, the secondary schools increased in number from 2,537 to 5,430 - by a hefty 114 percent.

At the tertiary level, the number of schools increased by a very high 148 percent from 466 in SY 1965-1966 to 1,157 in SY 1984-1985.

At all three levels, the total number of schools increased 58 percent from 24,880 in SY 1965-1966 to 39,396 in SY 1984-1985.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS: PUBLIC VS.PRIVATE

Comparative data on number of schools are presented for SY 1965-1966, SY 1975-1976, and SY 1984-1985 as follows:

At the Elementary Level

Total Public % Private %

1965-1966 21,877 21,053 96.2 824 03.8 1975-1976 30,962 29,854 96.4 1,108 03.6 1984-1985 32,809 31,440 95.8 1,369 04.2

At the Secondary Level

1965-1966 2,537 924 36.4 1,613 63.6 1975-1976 4,908 2,883 58.7 2,025 41.3 1984-1985 5,430 3,354 61.8 2,076 38.2

At the Tertiary Level

1965-1966 466 26 5.6 440 94.4 1975-1976 754 126 16.7 628 83.3 1984-1985 1,157 319 27.6 838 72.4

From the data it is seen that:

a. At the secondary and tertiary levels, the numbtr of public schools has increased, as a percentage of the total number of public and private schools from 36.4 per cent in SY 1965-1966 to 61.8 per cent in SY 1984-1985 for secondary schools, and from 5.6 per cent to 27.6 per cent for tertiary schools.

b. The respective shares in total enrolment of public and private schools at the elementary level have not changed much, although their numbers have increased in absolute terms.

LITERACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Literacy rate is the proportion of persons aged 10 years and over who are "able to read and write" a simple message in any language or dialect in the country.

The literate population in 193 9 constituted less than one half of the total population 10 years old and over. By 1960, it had reached 72.0%. For 1970, the national average literacy rate was 83 .4 per cent, according to a NEDA-U.N. Children's Fund study. 1 Comparable figures for Thailand and Indonesia were: 78.6 per cent (1970) and 56.6 per cent (1971), respectively.

For 1975, the data from NCSO's 1975 integrated census of the Philippines pointed to a 89.27 per cent national average literacy rate. 2 This same study projected a 92 per cent literacy rate for 1983.

LITERACY OF POPULATION 10 YEARS AND ABOVE

Year % Literate

1939 50.00 1960 i2.05 1970 83.40 1975 89.27 1983 92.00

For the population 15 years and over, the literacy rate was 87 per cent as of 1980. 3 This was an NCSO estimate based on a 20 per cent sample. However, actual reports from NFE coordinators indicated for the same population an 89 .4 per cent literacy rate as of 1981.

l"A study on the Situation of Children in the Philippines," June 1979. 2 According to a 1982 NETC·EDPITAF study funded partly by the International Development

Research Center of Canada. The MECS Statistical Bulletin-1979 reporu the same figure. 3MECS (NFE). "Study of the Literacy Situation in the Philippines: Final Report" (1983).

LITERACY OF POPULATION 15 YEARS AND ABOVE

1980 1981

% Literate

87 .00 (NCSO) 89 .40 (NFE coordinators'

reports)

This increasing trend can be attributed. to the statutory provision for compulsory education at the first level of education (elementary) and to the Philippine commitment to the Karachi Plan for universal primary education in Asia by 1980.

APPENDIX M

MOVING FORWARD IN EDUCATION: 19851

The work of a Ministry is not always dramatic. The most important activities often consist of recognizing the existence of a problem, defining the problem, determining available options, analyzing each possibility and finally, reaching the indicated decision which may be on policy, procedure, rules, programs, organization, or staffing.

The most visible and dramatic decisions are those which solve problems of the moment, decisions that put out fires, so to speak. The less visible, but ultimately among the most significant, decisions are those which prevent fires, as it were, those which head off problems before they burst into consciousness and those which are intended to further strengthen the foundations of the education system.

During 1984, my first year as Education Minister, I spent most of my time in trying to familiarize myself with the current and the continuing concerns of education, issues that I soon realized had been accumulating over the years and which could not be solved instantly or by the Ministry alone. Many of the problems that needed action and resolution had been discussed for many years and had been the subject of continuing controversy. Some of the hard decisions had been postponed, leading to an accumulation of problems that reached dramatic denouements in 1984-85.

Continuing Problems

The most visible and fundamental issues which landed in the national consciousness were first, the compensation of teacher and education support staff and second, student fee. The first touches upon the twin problem of the quality of teaching and the attractiveness of teaching as a profession. The second touches upon the basic issue to private education and the viability of the private education system.

Teacher and support staff compensation are at the heart of many of the problems of the public education system. Among others, compensation affects the level of teacher unrest, the quality of education, the attractiveness of teaching as a profession, the capability of school teachers, and the ability of the education system to retain the best teachers in teaching.

1A year-end report on the major concerns of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports by Minister Jaime c. Laya. December 31, 1985.

Academic Policy and Direction

1. Basic Education. The program for Decentralized Education (PRODED) continued in implementation. During 1985-86, third grade students moved on to the new elementary school curriculum, following a reoriented curriculum. The new textbooks were used by teachers who had completed a careful training program.

In school year 1986-87, new textbooks will be in place for Grade IV, and so on for each year and grade in the future. PRODED seeks a return to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, and a more conscious effort to instill values and attitudes, forming part of a set of minimum learning competencies which have been designed for each grade level in the system.

A major training program is underway through the Learning Action Cells, whereby the approaches, the content as well as the technology in the new elementary school curriculum can reach all teachers in the public elementary school system. Teacher in-service training is being institutionalized such that even after the termination of PRODED-World Bank financing at the end of 1986, teacher training efforts can be continued. The continuation of teacher training efforts is provided under LOI No. 1487, signed by President Marcos during Education Week.

2. Secondary Education. The improvements in the secondary education program would follow logically after the completion of the elementary school cycle. When the first graduates of the new elementary curriculum are ready for high school, then the high school curriculum will have to be correspondingly ready to build upon what students learn in the first six-years.

The various components of the secondary education system are being studied, noting that the secondary level is frequently characterized as the weakest and most complicated link in the Philippine education system. There are more than ten types of secondary school, ranging from barangay high schools which are run and operated by the residents of a village, all the way up to such international institutions as the International School whose standards are comparable to the very best schools anywhere in the world. In between are varying gradations of secondary school types. The study that is now underway seeks to identify possible approaches and funding sources for the improvement of the system, so as to achieve the ideal school which is good both in academic and in vocational preparation.

In order to help improve upon the resource base and to encouraged self-help efforts of vocational-technical schools at the secondary and tertiary levels, the MECS recommended to the President a mechanism whereby income of such institutions can be retained to support the improvement of physical facilities and general quality of instruction. The president approved the idea and issued LOI No. 1491 on Education Week, for the purpose.

The government has recognized that it is important to do something about these students who end up among the unemployed, despite having finished high school, are not quite ready either for college or for work. The President recently authorized the

opening of remedial classes in science, mathematics, language, and perhaps other deficient areas. These will be offered by qualified high schools so that a high school graduate with still inadequate preparation will be able to attend class from one summer to one school year, depending on his background and training, so that at least his education can approximate that which was obtained by a high school student in some better school. The new policy is embodied in LOI No. 1490, issued on Dec. 10, 1985 on recommendation of the MECS.

3. Higher Education. Working with associations of tertiary level institutions and professional groups, the Bureau of Higher Education is reviewing curricula and other educational standards applicable to various collegiate programs.

The Ministry issues new and upgraded standards as the work is completed. One of the most purposive efforts that is now underway affects medical programs, now offered by 27 medical schools.

The Board of Medical Education, which consists of education, health, academic, and professional representatives, has decided to initiate an audit of each of the existing schools, with the aim of devising a program of upgrading as may be necessary, to ensure that all medical schools achieve an acceptable standard of instruction.

The Board of Medical Education also decided to institute the National Medical Admissions Tests (NMAT), in order to systematically identify the best prepared applicants to medical schools and to exclude from admission those who fail to meet testing standards. Experience has shown that allowing each medical school to establish its own standards sometimes excluded promising 3tudents and allowed the admission of less promising students. With the NMAT, which was offered for the first time in 1985, only the most qualified applicants will be admitted to any medical school. This is expected to reduce drop-out rates and therefore maximize the utilization of medical school facilities, as well as avoid certain irregular admissions practices.

The curriculum of teacher training programs is being reviewed, in the light of continuing complaints among educational administrators about the lack of preparedness among applicants for new teacher positions. The possibility of a combined course that would prepare a student for alternative careers in education, mass media or executive training is being studied, as a means of attracting more students into a course that could lead to a teaching career. This is a clear move away from the policy of previous years that, on the contrary, tended towards greater specialization for elementary or secondary school teaching.

The MECS continued the implementation of the recent policy of voluntary accreditation within a single national accrediting agency. This was supported by policy adjustments in student fee application procedure and reporting procedure.

The coordinative mechanism among state universities and colleges, being independent chartered institutions, has been rather weak and in many cases, academic and other standards were higher

in private schools. The problem was recognized and a solution was devised, embodied in LOI NO. 1461 issued on May 23, 1985 upon recommendation of MECS, which established policy guidelines for state universities and colleges, including the need for development planning, coordination of programs, financing sources, academic standards, and so on.

4. Language Policy. The language policy instituted about eleven years ago, calls for both English and Filipino to be used as media of instruction at the elementary and high school levels.

Many people have attributed the decline in English competence and the decline of comprehension in certain subjects to the bilingual policy. A study commissioned by the MECS in 1984 is in process of finalizing recommendations, which address one of the most basic issues in education today.

5. Legislated Courses. Certain laws require the offering of specified topics, including Spanish, the life and works of Rizal, agrarian reform, taxation, government economic programs, and the like. The Spanish Law has been a source of continuing discussion. The Rizal Law also attracted attention during the year.

The Batasang Pambansa is at present considering a Bill which will make Spanish optional. The MECS had initially proposed to the Batasan that Spanish be made optional for Muslim Filipinos (in favor of Arabic) and for Filipino-Chinese students (in favor of Mandarin). The latest version of the Bill, however, would allow students to take up any modern language (including Filipino and Spanish) instead of a categorical Spanish requirement. The Batasan is still conducting hearing.

The Rizal Law itself does not require a separate course on Rizal, but MECS required, almost two decades ago, that such be offered as prerequisite for graduation. Since the Law simply says that the life and works of Rizal must be taken by students, the MECS is considering the possibility of incorporating the life and works of Rizal in language, history, literature, and possibly other courses. One option being studied is the institution of a new Philippine history course that covers not only Rizal but other heroes as well.

6. National Service Law. The NSL elicited a great deal of controversy in 1985. The Law was passed several years ago and was implemented through the accreditation of the Youth Action Development Office (YADO). The MECS broadened the rules and regulations in order to allow individual schools greater f lexibili ty in designing and implementing their own civic welfare programs as an option to military training.

Some groups interpreted the NSL as militarization of the education system and resisted its implementation. They took the position that required military training was preferable to an uncertain civic welfare alternative that could be directed by the military anyway.

The various aspects of the law have been exhaustively discussed in various forums during the year and the matter is now before the Batasang Pambansa which is considering possible amendment of the Law so as to allay the suspicions concerning military

involvement. In the test the concept in cities. Financial Issues

meantime, the MECS has proceeded to pilot Region III (Central Luzon) and in certain

The national government continued to support education, although admittedly within the serious financial constraints that are part of the national recovery program. Within the general fiscal constraints, education support was mainly in the budgetary appropriations of the MECS, of chartered state universities and colleges and of the Ministry of Public Works and Highways (schoolbuilding program).

The MECS budget is almost entirely in support of the public elementary school system and is used mainly for the basic salary, allowances and benefits of public schoolteachers and education support personnel. Support for national high schools and non-chartered tertiary level ins ti tut ions is also within MECS appropriations.

Local government units support provincial, city, municipal, or barangay high schools and colleges. The most notable of these include the city high schools of Manila, Davao City, and elsewhere. The larger provinces also maintain provincial high schools. Budgetary support come from the General Fund of the local government units concerned and compensation supplements may come from the Special Education Fund constituted from certain real estate tax receipts.

Barangay schools were originally conceived of a self-supporting institutions, although the national government has for many years supported as much as 70 percent of the compensation of barangay school teachers.

1. National Government Support. Many observers have pointed out that the education budget has been declining over the years both in real terms and as a percentage of the total national budget.

Truly, the purchasing power of the education budget has declined sadly over the years, resulting in declining real wages of education personnel and in failure to maintain facilities and standards of operation for want of sufficient current operating funds. Capital outlays have not been high enough to fully keep up with the increasing enrolment and with advances in technology. The share of education in the national budget had been at the 15 percent level for some years now and in fairness, compensation and operating problems are encountered not by education alone.

All sectors of government operation have had to sacrifice for the common good. Something has to give in the struggle of our country, poorly endowed in oil resources, to aspire for development and sufficiency in food and energy in the context of the international energy crisis.

The government recognizes the urgency of upgrading the compensation of education personnel and civil servants. Across the board compensation increases of 10 percent were granted in 1984 and gain in January 1985. Beyond this, the equivalent record form

(ERF) program was implemented in 1984 which rewarded those teachers with graduate training. Furthermore, the number of master teacher slots was raised, thus promoting some 10,000 teachers.

The Ministry has adopted the policy of giving preference to the children of school teachers in the award of scholarship out of the National Scholarship Funds being administered by the Ministry itself.

A policy of more liberal service credits was initiated, in order to allow teachers (who are on vacation leave status) to take time off during the school year in partial compensation for service granted in connection with poll duties and with relief work in calamity stricken areas.

2.Local Government Financing. Many of the publicized compensation problems are essentially local issues. In 1985, the teachers of the City of Manila, Pasay City, and Navotas, among others took to the streets on the issue of untimely or inadequate local government supplements to the national compensation of school teachers.

Elem. school teachers, being national employees, are paid by the national government. However, the law and regulations allow provinces, cities and municipalities to pay supplemental compensation to teachers, out of local funds or the units are unable to promptly pay the already approved compensation supplements, due to poor real estate tax collections (the source of the Special Education Fund).

The national government had to intervene in some cases where the local government unit's financial situation is unusually severe. In June. Pres. Marcos authorized the extension of a GSIS loan to the City of Manila in order to allow the latter to meet some of its obligations. Pres. Marcos also authorized, in Dec. 1985, a grant to the City of Manila in the amount of P38.3 million again to enable the City of Manila to pay its obligations. The Metro Manila Commission similarly extended assistance to certain other municipalities in order to allow them to meet their obligations.

In order to rationalize matters, Pres. Marcos issued, on recommendation of the Ministry, LOI 1462 improving upon the priority system in utilizing Special Education Fund resources and putting an end to certain unauthorized uses of the Special Education Fund, so as to maximize the amount available for compensation supplements. He also issued LOI No. 1480 initiating a study to further rationalize inequities in the present system, particularly those requiring remedial legislation.

The most recent of the instructions of the Pres. is LOI No. 1501, issued in Dec. 18, 1985, which injects greater flexibility and which rationalizes further the system of utilizing local school board funds for the benefit of the school system.

3. International Debt. Foreign loans have been obtained for vocational/technical, fisheries, agricultural and other areas of education. The biggest foreign funding has come in the form of the US$100 million WB loan for PRODED. The slow drawings against the PRODED loan has been a long standing problem and successful

efforts were made in 1985 to more rapidly draw on the loan to f inance training and facilities improvement programs in particular.

School desks were ordered f rorn vocational technical schools within their capacity to produce. Training programs were held on arrangement with the DAP. Part of the schoolbuilding program implemented by the Ministry of Public Works and Highways was funded f rorn the PRODED loan . . .

4. Lottery. Some school systems abroad, including those in Canada, and more recently in the State of California, U.S.A., have conducted lotteries benefiting their school systems. The President has approved in principle a ''Lotto" game modelled after the California program, whereby a substantial part of an attractive lottery is earmarked for the improvement of the school system. The mechanics are now being designed and once the system is implemented, hopefully by 1986, education should receive several hundred million pesos from this source.

The President has specifically stated that teachers and students shall be forbidden from selling tickets to the lottery. Tickets are to be sold at retail stores, vendors, and other channels to be designed as part of the operating details.

5. Philippine Public School Teachers Association. The Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA) is probably the largest mutual aid society in the Philippines which is of a purely private character. As such, PPSTA is in a position to assist in the upgrading of teacher welfare through it mutual assistance and loan programs. Unfortunately, certain scandals over the years depleted seriously the PPSTA finances and eroded the confidence of its membership.

Recognizing the importance of PPSTA and the fact that the hard-earned savings of school teachers are the resources at stake, President Marcos authorized a government-assisted PPSTA rehabilitation program. in LOI No. 1493 issued during Education Week, the President authorized the infusion of P65 million in interest-free loans to PPSTA for a period of five years, renewable for another five years. The money is corning from MECS savings ( P20 million), MECS Sar iling Sikap appropriations for 1986 (20 million) and the casino fund (25 million).

With this infusion and certain safeguards which have been directed by the President, it is anticipated that PPSTA will again be in a position to render increasing and more effective service to its membership and to recover full financial vigor.

6. Budgetary Improvements. The General Appropriations Act for 1986 contains certain innovations addressed to personnel cornpen-sation, education research, academic development programs and other concerns. These are significant developments that represent government commitment to educational improvement, even in the face of serious fiscal constraints.

The 1986 budget provides P2 billion as a salary adjustment fund intended for all government employees. Education personnel, including school teachers, will have their share in this appropriations. A lump sum for the on-step salary adjustment of teachers and other related teaching positions (210 million) has been

appropriated, in order to bring up the salary of teachers to the next higher step. Their salaries are presently in between salary steps. The sum of P30 million has been authorized in order to allow the payment of honoraria for certain nonteaching activities, such as supervision of school orchards and community development activities.

It also earmarks P20 million as appropriation for the "Sariling Sikap" program of Ministry employees, in the thinking that while the national government is unable to adequately compensate education personnel, it should try its best to provide financing for backyard projects that will help supplement school income ..

The sum of PIO million is appropriated for research and development projects of state universities and colleges. Administered by the MECS, the fund is intended to be used towards the improvement of education research and the quality and coordination among state university and college programs.

Support to private education improvement efforts if being provided for the first time in the amount of P5 million, intended to support the voluntary accreditation program undertaken through the newly formed Federation of Accrediting Associations of the Philippines.

7. Long-Term Financial Planning. The budget system is particularly sympathetic to long-term planning efforts, since appropriations are made by the legislation on a year-to-year basis. On the other hand, the long lead times for teacher training, curriculum and teaching materials development, physical facilities planning, and educational progression in general, are essentially long-term in nature. The short-term orientation of the budget process could explain some of the problems now surfacing in education, including teacher attraction and retention, inadequate facilities, and so on.

The preparation of a long-term financial plan for education was accordingly initiated in 1984. The work has proven to very complex and the MECS is now working on a third draft. With the President's authorization, the effort has enlisted the assistance of the Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Budget, the National Tax Research Center which is an agency of the National Economic and Development Authority, as well as the Ministry of Local Government.

The needs of education are truly enormous considering the fact that there are at present roughly 380,000 school personnel in the public school system, a number which inevitably has to rise with the increase of population. The compensation problem has to be addressed and much needs to be done in order to be able to catch up with previous years' real compensation levels.

All of this leads to the need to identify possible revenue sources for education that might be tapped in the future. Certain sources have already been identified with the assistance of the National Tax Research Center and two of these have already been approved. The President has approved in principle the conduct of a lottery for purposes of augmenting education resources. Like-

wise, the recent measures approved by the President affecting sales taxes include certain provisions for education.

We intend to continue the long-term planning effort as a means of underscoring the need for a longer planning and budgeting horizon and better justifying the context of annual appropriations proposals.

Student Fees and Private School Viability

One of the principal issues affecting the private education system is the existence of a ceiling on student fees, enforced since the late 1960 's. Under the Tuition Fee Law, it has been possible to raise student fees only by a small amount, somewhere between 5 and 15 percent each year, resulting in a gap between inflation rate and the rate of increase in school revenues. The increased prices of electricity, water, supplies, transportation, and other operating expenditure simply exceeded the authorized student fees increases.

Supreme Court rulings on P.D. No 451, on the utilization of tuition fee increments for salary increases, has caused substantial burdened on the University of the East, the University of Pangasinan and St. Louis University in Baguio and possibly other similarly-situated institutions. The MECS has submitted a position on the matter to the Supreme Court and a final ruling is till pending.

The student fee policy of past years and the Supreme Court ruling that is now under consideration has discouraged the expansion of school facilities, thus reducing capacity to accept new students. Schools have also tended to skimp on maintenance and operations. They have not been able to grant necessary salary increases to their teachers and support staff. Some schools have decided that certain programs are non-viable and accordingly decided to discontinue, in some cases, entire high school programs, graduate schools, etc.

The existing student fee policy therefore has been acceptable to students and parents because student fees were kept low. On the other hand, it has contributed to a deterioration, to the extent that schools were unable to attract or retain the best faculty members and to upgrade or even maintain the equipment and other facilities.

The University of the East case illustrates the most extreme consequence of previous student fee policy. Due to a combination of reasons, including restricted student fee increases and the Supreme Court ruling on back wages due the faculty, the university's property, including school desks, in effect already belong to the faculty association. The stock-holders were led to a point where they had actually concluded arrangements with the Maharishi Group, an arrangement objected to by the entire university community.

In sum, the issue of allowable student fee increases is probably the greatest single factor that affects the quality and survival of Philippine private education. In fairness, however,

many people have validly pointed out that some schools probably are inefficiently run or incur excessive expenditures or else divert certain income directly to stockholders.

The Ministry took into account all these factors and decided on a reformulated student fee policy issued in a form of a MECS Order. Many decisions are hard to make and it was difficult to make this controversial decision to allow greater leeway in increasing student fees but we would like to think that we did so in a manner that calls upon all sectors of a school community, including students, stockholders (if any), administrators, and faculty and support staff, to contribute their share to school continuity.

We are of course requiring schools to offer scholarships and fellowships for poor but deserving students encouraging students to work their way through college or to adopt other similar measures and schools. In this way, the negative effects of student fee increases can be mitigated somewhat.

The choice was a rather difficult one, to restrict student fee increases and thus allow schools and programs to close down gradually or else to allow student fee increases and thus exclude those students unable to pay the high fees. We take comfort, however, in the thought that this difficult decision will ultimately see to the continued existence and service of the private education system, now providing the bulk of Philippine tertiary level education.

To help tide over private schools in the difficult period of transition in the aftermath of the long period of ceiling on student fee increases and of the Supreme Court decision calling for payment of large amounts of back pay in certain schools, the MECS developed the idea of a Private Education Loan Fund, now being considered by the Batasang Pambansa.

Staff Development Program

It is said that the teacher is the most important single ingredient in any education system. As such, it is necessary to make sure that teacher training programs are adequate for the needs of the schools system and that staff development activities continue for teacher who are in the service.

The Ministry has initiated, as part of PRODED, a teacher training program that is undertaken by staff members and by outside trainers, particularly from the Development Academy of the Philippines. The better Schools Divisions also have continuing professional meetings and lengthier seminars and workshops as part of their regular operations.

The reprogramming of the World Bank PRODED loan provides for a greater amount for degree and non-degree teacher training, both in domestic and foreign schools. Other funding sources, particularly the Economic Support Fund, US Agency for International Development, are being tapped for such training programs.

The World Bank loan terminates at the end of 1986. and the President has authorized the institutionalization of a teacher

in-service training program, by virtue of LOI No. 1487, signed on Education Week. A National Education Learning Center, to be located at Teachers Camp in Baguio City, will be the capstone of the in-service training pyramid, supported by Regional and Division/District Learning Centers. The idea is that these Centers shall be the focus of teaching innovation and teacher upgrading, supported out of the regular budget of the Ministry.

Culture Program

Efforts were taken to inject a greater element of Philippine culture into the schools system. In addition to a conscious effort to Filipinize the curriculum, activities of the cultural agencies were deliberately designed with the school system in mind.

The National Museum, the National Historical Institute and the National Library initiated exhibits that travelled to schools, including traveling audio-visual presentations on the cultural minorities, on art and on pre-history. A school concert program was begun with the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 'l'raveling international and Philippine artists visited various cities around the country to play to student audiences.

The Instructional Materials Corporation is undertaking an art portfolio project, to make available to schools reproductions of the masterpieces of Philippine painting. The cultural agencies, headed by a team quartered at the National Library is preparing an encyclopedia of the Philippines in both Filipino and English. The regional series on Philippine folk culture ( "Kalinangan") was started and will shortly complete a second volume, on Muslim Philippines.

A ''culture day" program was started in Metro Manila, during which busloads of public school teachers and students were taken to various historical sites and museums, including the National Museum, Intramuros, the Mabini Shrine, and Malacanang Palace, climaxed by a performance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Through this means, teachers and students can learn more about their culture and the cultural riches of the community.

The blue color of the Philippine flag was also restored to its historic shade (dark, bright blue) on the basis of research conducted by the National Historical Institute.

Sports Program

The sports priority of the Ministry focused on the upgrading of the competence of physical education teachers at the elementary and secondary levels, including their skills in coaching and judging. The limited funding available for Ministry sports programs forced the cancellation of the national sports competition ( "Palarong Filipino") in favor of school, district, division, and wherever funds permit, regional meets. The idea is that national sports excellence would have to begin at the- school level, with better facilities and physical education teachers. It

is also felt that the limited amount of available budget support can go a longer way, over the long run, by strengthening the basic schools programs.

Training programs for teachers were held at the Marcos Sports Academy and in cooperation with the University of Life. A limited amount of sports equipment (mainly volleyballs and the like) were also purchased and distributed to schools.

Some funds were alloted to renew emphasis on folk dancing, something that has been overlooked through the years. Folk dancing books and tapes were acquired and distributed, as a means of combining sports and culture.

School Facilities

The schoolbuilding program was continued as a coordinated activity between the MECS, the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Public Works and Highways which is the construction arm of the government. Funding was provided by the General Fund, the PRODED World Bank loan (which was reprogrammed so as to support a major part of the public works program for schoolbuildings) and the Economic Support Fund.

Library improvement continued through the "Marcos Library" program, whereby one 10,000 volume library is targeted for each province and city. The program is in its second (out of five) year of implementation. The present year focused on the identification of titles and the design of a system that will allow the program to proceed quickly.

The Instructional Materials Corporation was operationalized by virtue of LOis No. 1463 (May 31, 1985) and 1489 (December 10, 1985), which initiated its operations and which established the policy for future guidance, respectively. The concept is for the Corporation to help see to the continuing provisions of textbooks for elementary and secondary schools, even after the expiry of the World Bank loan that in the past has been the main source of textbook production and acquisition.

A computer task force continued its work in designing a computer education program for the schools system. Work is fairly advanced in computerizing the data base of education planning and in conceptualizing the directions of computer training in schools. The thinking is to give particular emphasis to computer education at the high school level.

A broadcast education program has been designed and proposed for funding from the Japanese Government. The need to improve on teacher competence, particularly in science and mathematics, the lack of books and equipment, has led to the development of an enrichment program for these and other subjects. The objective is to have tape (audio as well as video) libraries of school lessons that can be broadcast or played in schools using mobile units or in-school audio visual rooms. This will be useful in upgrading classroom standards, devising a fast track system for the high achievers, and of reaching the hinterlands where schooling is frequently a problem.

The internal administrative mechanism was improved, to facilitate the procurement of necessary school equipment (including desks and teaching aids) at reasonable cost. The production capacity of vocational and technical schools are being tapped in the manufacture of school desks, eliminating problems of previous years.

Working Conditions

1. Poll Duties. The difficulties of teacher participation in the electoral process was recognized by government and at the initiative of MECS, the Omnibus Election Code passed by the Batasang Pambansa, among others, (a) raised the compensation of teachers discharging poll duties, (b) compensated education support personnel, (c) compensated education administrative personnel doing supervisory work in elections, and (d) made harassment of teachers an electoral offense. The mechanism for paying teachers for poll duties also improved.

2. Teacher Discipline. Some ten ( 10) teacher strikes have taken place in Metro Manila since militancy took root in the public school system in the late 1960s. In 1985, there were three (3) such disruptions of class. While the government is sympathetic and is indeed acting on teacher grievances for better pay, the MECS also has to take into account the welfare of students who are the innocent parties caught in the cross fire.

In January 1985, the MECS initiated a policy of "no work, no pay" which simply places teachers on par with all other employees, whether of government or of private companies. It also successfully conducted a "school on the air" during the January teacher strike, as an alternative means of educating schoolchildren.

In September, when another teacher strike was declared, the MECS decided to initiate disciplinary action and filed administrative charges four dozen teacher leaders in Metro Manila. The teachers contested the MECS action and took the case to the Supreme Court, which temporarily restrained the MECS from proceeding with the investigations. The restraining order is still in force while the Court considers the matter.

A contingency planning mechanism was put into place and the MECS had identified means of ensuring the continuity of education even if teacher-cause disruptions occur in the future.

We are hopeful that disruptions will be less in the future, not only because of the punitive measures that were reluctantly initiated in 1985, but because of improved communication and coordination with teachers, who are now involved in the policy and financial planning efforts of the MECS.

Student Assemblies

The MECS took cognizance of the need to reconcile student rights to free expression and dissent and the similar right to peacefully pursue education on the part of those who wish to do

so. MECS Order No. 61, s. 1985 was issued, establishing ground rules for student assemblies when conducted within school premises. Prior permission is necessary and barricades, noisy disruptions of classes and coercion of students into attending demonstrations, are specifically prohibited.

The design of policy was made in coordination with the Ministry of National Defense and with the provisions of the Public Assembly Act passed by the Batasang Pambansa governing assemblies (including those by students) in public places. The new policy is careful to observe the rights of all concerned and the established tradition of maintaining campus discipline by school security men.

Predictably, the MECS policy drew objections from students who prefer anarchic forms of dissent and expression. The thinking, however, is that the policy successfully sees to it that the freedom of expression of students within school campuses takes into account the right of others who do not wish to participate in student mass action.

The ground rules for scholarships granted to rebel returnees were rationalized with the issuance of LOI No. 1492, issued on December 10, 1985. This will assure an orderly utilization of funds available for the purpose.

Measuring Quality

The quality of education has been a continuing concern among educators. Literacy rate is one catch-all minimum measure of educational performance. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) includes this indicators in the analysis of census results, conducted once every decade. While literacy rate of persons of 15 years or over has risen over the years, the data also indicates a worrying decline in the literacy of grade school dropouts. The new elementary school curriculum, now in the third grade, is addressed precisely to improve upon literacy and other related educational indicators.

There is need, however, for more precise measures of educational performance. The principal available specific measure of student achievement is the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), which is taken by graduating high school students wishing to proceed to college. While the NCEE, strictly speaking, measures not achievement but potential for success in college, the Ministry has conducted analyses of the results of the NCEE so as to inf er possible areas of improvement in the secondary school system.

It is necessary to pinpoint areas of strength and deficiency, that the solutions can be devised. Perhaps improvement is needed in the curriculum, in textbooks, in medium of instruction, in teaching methods, in teacher qual if ica t ions and training, or other aspect of the school system. Perhaps supervision could be improved upon. Certainly special effort needs to be taken in identifying the magnitude, location, nature, and potential for educa-tion quality upgrading.

Some conclusions are easy to draw, that quality depends on available resources, on teacher preparation, and the like. However, it is true that the quality of education varies among regions and the specific causes and solutions have to be determined with some precision.

A policy decision was taken in 1985, embodied in LOI No. 1488 issued on Education Week, to institute as part of the education process, a national testing program. There is no intention to institute NCEE-type cut-off scores. The idea is to have analytical tests that are not tied to admission or passing, whereby students performance at all grade levels and in all regions, is systematically monitored, using some statistically designed testint scheme, so as to gauge quality and achievement, including attainment of the announce minimum learning competencies. The test findings would then be used as a means of continuing feedback and improvement.

The Year Ahead

The Presidential elections scheduled for February 7, 1986, the outcome of which would determine the direction of the Ministry and the educational system in general. The policies and programs of the past years have been in accord with the platform of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ( KBL) and enunciated by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. I have not seen any UNIDO statement on education.

President Marcos also started that he is thinking of a Cabinet revamp after the elections. a KBL victory, therefore, also could mean a new face in the Ministry. For this reason, I feel a little diffident in terms of looking ahead, beyond February 7, 1986.

I suspect, however, that most of the serious problem areas have been identified and addressed and that the policy decisions and the solutions for many of them are in place, including both immediate-run and long-run matters.

One thing is certain is that enrolment given the population rate increase which percent per annum. This will call for more rooms, more books and other facilities.

will continue rising, is still at over 2

teachers, more class-

If we wish, as we do, to further improve upon the quality of education in the next generation, then the defined thrusts for improved teacher and education support staff compensation and working conditions, more aggressive teacher training, better books and teaching material, libraries, and generally increased resources for education, greater leeway for the private schools system, and the other policy matters will have to be pursued with unflagging vigor.

Source: Republic of Culture and Sports. Indicators 1965-1985.

the Philippines. A Supplement to

Ministry of Education, the Philippine Education

APPENDIX N

THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 1986 CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE XIV

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARTS, CULTURE, AND SPORTS

EDUCATION

Section 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

Sec. 2. The State shall: (1) Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate,

and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society;

(2) Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory for all children of school age;

(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives which shall be available to deserving students in both public and private schools, especially to the underprivileged;

(4) Encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school youth programs particularly those that respond to community needs; and

(5) Provide adult citizens, the disabled, out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational efficiency, and other skills.

Sec. 3. (1) All educational institutions shall include the study of the constitution as part of the curricula.

(2) They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage er i ti cal and creative thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.

( 3) At the option expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, religion shall be allowed to be taught to- their children or wards in public elementary and high schools within

the regular class hours by instructors designated or approved by the religious authorities of the religion to which the children or wards belong, without additional cost to the Government.

Sec. 4. (1) The State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private ins ti tut ions in the educational system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational institutions.

(2) Educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups and mission boards, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens. The Congress may, however, require increased Filipino equity participation in all educational institutions.

The control and administration of educational institutions shall be vested in citizens of the Philippines.

No educational institutions shall be established exclusively for aliens and no group of aliens shall comprise more than onethird of the enrollment in any school. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to schools established for foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents and, unless provided by law, for other foreign temporary residents.

(3) All revenues and assets of non-stock, non-profit educational institutions used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from taxes and duties. Upon the dissolution or cessation of the corporate existence of such ins ti tut ions, their assets shall be disposed of in the manner provided by law.

Proprietary educational institutions, including those cooperatively owned, may likewise be entitled to such exemptions subject to the limitations provided by law including restrictions on dividends and provisions for reinvestment.

(4) Subject to conditions prescribed by law, all grants, endowments, donations, or contributions used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from tax.

Sec. 5. ( 1) The State shall take into account regional and sectoral needs and conditions and shall encourage local planning in the development of educational policies and programs.

(2) Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of higher learning.

( 3) Every citizen has a right to select a profession or course of study, subject to fair, reasonable, and equitable admission and academic requirements.

{ 4) The State shall enhance the right of teachers to professional advancement. Non-teaching academic and non-academic personnel shall enjoy the protection of the State.

(5) The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.

LANGUAGE

Sec. 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.

Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system.

Sec. 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.

The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.

Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.

Sec. 8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in Filipino and English and shall be translated into major regional languages, Arabic, and Spanish.

Sec. 9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and promote researches for the development, propagation and preservation of Filipino and other languages.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Sec. 10. Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The State shall give priority to research and development, invention, and their utilization; and to science and technology education, training, and services. It shall support indigenous, appropriate, and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country's productive systems and national life.

Sec. 11. The Congress may provide for incentives, including tax deductions, to encourage private participation in programs of basic and applied scientific research. Scholarships, grants-inaid, or other forms of incentives shall be provided to deserving science students, researchers, scientists, inventors, technologists, and specially gifted citizens.

Sec. 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and promote the adaptation of technology from all sources for the national benefit. It shall encourage the widest participation of private groups, local governments, and community-based organizations in the generation and utilization of science and technology.

Sec. 13. The State shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such period as may be provided by law.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Sec. 14. The State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.

Sec. 15. Arts and letters shall enjoy the patronage of the State. The State shall conserve, promote, and popularize the nation's historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations.

Sec. 16. All country's artistic and historic wealth constitute the cultural treasure of the nation and shall be under the protection of the State which may regulate its disposition.

Sec. 17. The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national plans and policies.

Sec. 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the educational system, public or private, cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives, and community cultural centers, and other public venues.

( 2) The State shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and culture.

Sec. 19. (1) The State shall promote physical education and encourage sports programs, league competitions, and amateur sports including training for international competitions, to foster self-discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry.

(2) All educational institutions shall undertake regular sport activities throughout the country in cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors.

APPENDIX 0

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION v. '

Water Tower Campus * 820 North Michigan Avenue. Chicago, Illinois 60611 * (312) 670-3030

October 23, 1986

Dr. Lourdes Quisumbing Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Palacio del Gobierno, Intrarnuros Manila, Philippines

Dear Dr. Quisumbing,

You may not remember me, but I had the pleasure of meeting and knowing you when you were teaching at St. Theresa's College, Cebu City. I also had the privilege of hearing you speak in several seminars and conferences when I was also teaching at St. Joseph's Academy, Mandaue City.

I am Lourdes Rayla ~aluga. My grandmother, Juanity Reynes Rayla comes from the Reynes family of Compostela, Cebu. I am at present a doctoral candidate in the Comparative/ International Education program of the Foundations Department at Loyola University of Chicago. This semester, I have launched my dissertation: The Role of Education in the National Development of the Philippines (1972-1986). I hope to complete the work by January 1987, so that I may graduate in May 1987. So much has happened since I left our country for my studies abroad in 1980, that I would like to bring the picture up to date.

At the earnest suggestion of my doctoral committee at Loyola University, I am taking the liberty of asking you to send me any materials that you and your staff may have regarding the plans and prospects for education under the new regime. For example, guidelines, official policy statements and commitments or any personnel changes that in any way pertain to reshaping and reforming the education system, would be very helpful.

I am particularly interested in your development plans in education. Your own views on the present problems and attempts at solution would be most welcome. Any of these views may be quoted, with permission, in my paper.

Your contribution to my study here at Loyola University would be of inestimable value, not only for purposes of completing my dissertation but would also be most helpful in clarifying the situation in Philippine education for all of us involved in international perspectives in the United States.

However, I personally wish do in reply to my request. for your continued success.

you to know that I am most grateful for whatever you can Please be assured of my and the committee's best wishes

Respectfully and sincerely yours,

~~u.~R-~~ Lourdes Rayla Baluga J20

APPROVAL SHEET

The dissertation submitted by Lourdes Rayla Baluga has been read and approved by the following committee:

Dr. John M. Wozniak, Director Professor Emeritus, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Loyola

Dr. Gerald L. Gutek Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Loyola

Dr. Joan K. Smith Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Loyola Associate Dean, Graduate School, Loyola

The final copies have been examined by the director of the dissertation and the signature which appears below verifies the fact that any necessary changes have been incorporated and that the dissertation is now given final approval by the Committee with reference to content and form.

The dissertation is therefore accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education.

Datej' /J.Yl

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